Ed. Magazine 5 Reasons to Know... Uche Amaechi Posted September 8, 2010 By Lory Hough Doctoral StudentCulture, Communities, and Education ConcentrationHe initially intended to become a medical doctor. He even started down the pre-med path at Harvard College, graduating with a degree in biology. But after a couple of summers teaching in Cambridge, Mass., Uche Amaechi was hooked. Following graduation, he went back to the classroom to help run several afterschool programs, including one at the Fletcher Maynard Academy, a public school in Cambridge where he now serves as the extended day director. Today, this Nigerian-born doctoral student is combining his work with children with his initial love of science as part of Associate Professor Mica Pollock's OneVille research project based in neighboring Somerville.1. His interest in working with children, especially the underserved, started early. Growing up with a single mother who is a nurse, he helped take care of his younger siblings. "This is part of the reason I now want to give back," he says.2. Although much of his school-based work has focused on afterschool programs, along with a group of other afterschool program providers, he is working on ways to connect extended day with the regular day. "There doesn't need to be a divide."3. Working with Pollock, he is exploring how to use social technology, such as wikis, to allow everyone involved in a young person's life -- teachers, parents, coaches, and mentors -- to communicate regularly about the student.4. Volunteering is important to him. For the past six years, he's been a board member of the Science Club for Girls, a nonprofit that motivates girls to become interested in science. He's also cochair of CityStep, a partnership between Harvard and the city of Cambridge that offers performing arts year-round to students.5. When he's not in a classroom, he's on the dance floor. A few years ago, after a friend brought him to a salsa club in Boston for the first time, he started teaching the rhythmic dance at a nightclub, the Ed School, and Harvard's Currier House, where he serves as a nonresident tutor. Tango has become his latest passion.Photo: Martha Stewart Ed. Magazine The magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Explore All Articles Related Articles News The Rapid Rise of Private Tutoring In his research, doctoral candidate Edward Kim examines the rarely studied phenomenon of private tutoring and how it can contribute to issues of inequality in education. News The Effectiveness of Summer Math As schools seek to recover from COVID's disruptions, a significant new study shows how summer learning experiences focused on mathematics can play a part. Ed. Magazine No, Pinterest Isn’t the Place to Build Lesson Plans Alum’s nonprofit pilots new play-based early ed curriculum in Boston