Learning by Teaching: Preparing for a Career in Education Policy

Gurasis Singh, an honors student majoring in political science and entrepreneurial management, was naturally inclined toward political responsibility, civic engagement, and representation. Growing up in Rochester, Minnesota as the only one in his family born in the United States and being of the Sikh faith, Gurasis felt "an attachment to having voices of minorities being represented in politics."

Interdisciplinary Interests

When he first came to the University of Minnesota, Gurasis enrolled in the Carlson School of Management's business program, following others' recommendation.

During his freshman year, however, he took political science classes, leading to Gurasis adding the second degree.

One of the first political science classes he took was Education and the American Dream with Professor Scott Abernathy. "That's when my passion for education, the world of education, education policy, and innovation started," reflects Gurasis. It is also when he began to see the interdisciplinary link between his degrees.

Gurasis's interdisciplinary interest goes beyond his studies. His freshman year, he joined the Carlson Undergraduate Student Government, for which he served as a vice president of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He also joined the University-wide Undergraduate Student Government, representing all students as an at-large representative and eventually the ranking at-large representative.

Through these opportunities, Gurasis was involved in impactful projects such as the Late Night Dining Initiative, which provided free on-campus dining options to students. Although he liked this work, it did not allow him to create as much of an impact as he wanted.

Learning by Teaching

Gurasis participated in the Entrepreneurship in Action program to explore new ideas. Students in the program receive up to $15,000 to develop, evaluate, and test potential business opportunities.

He started with the idea of creating a new educational social venture that has a quick way of impacting the world of education. He soon became passionate about the lack of access to active learning methods in classrooms.

In the program, Gurasis returned to the practice of learning by teaching, which he frequently utilized in Professor Andrew Karch's Social Policy in the United States. While taking this class, Gurasis best learned the material by explaining it to his roommate.

Through Entrepreneurship in Action, Gurasis co-founded Echo Learn, an EdTech startup focused on learning by teaching and active learning. Echo Learn uses AI in a safe, vetted way to provide alternative learning solutions to students.

"We're flipping the script," explains Gurasis. "Rather than having this universal, omniscient AI chatbot that gives students whatever they want, this tool is designed to ask questions, not answer them."

Exploring Education

Following his freshman year, Gurasis built his own internship after connecting with a Rochester Public Schools district leader. After pitching a couple of ideas, he spent the summer developing academic programs designed for career exploration.

The summers following his sophomore and junior years, he interned for K12 Coalition, a national education consulting company. During the first summer, Gurasis was a business development intern with the company's school solutions team. His work primarily focused on strategic planning services with educational agencies across the nation. Gurasis was interested in shifting away from the business role and into policy during his second summer with the company. He began working with the Chief Policy Officer, conducting educational research on funding and governmental changes, and analyzed what policy changes were happening and what states were looking for.

Gurasis also participated in the Next Generation Service Corps Summer Policy Academy (SPA) the summer after his junior year. Through SPA, students gain an insight into public service careers, a network of peers and professors, enhanced policy knowledge, and a broader civic perspective. One of the educational policy leaders he met in SPA told Gurasis that having teaching experience made all the difference in being a good policy leader. 

To gain this experience, Gurasis applied to the Fulbright. He had previously worked with the Office of National and International Scholarships, and they agreed that he would be a competitive applicant with his EdTech experience and political science interests. 

Gurasis was selected for the English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Indonesia program, which blends together a variety of his interests.

For the ETA program, Gurasis will teach alongside other teachers, helping him gain both experience and perspective. He will also take part in community engagement and public service initiatives, for which he will be able to engage in his other interests such as policy and innovation. Gurasis is also excited to be international for a year and gain a culturally immersive experience.

"I really have become this person that enjoys interdisciplinary thinking," says Gurasis. "I don't think I would have gotten this opportunity if I wasn't so invested in the field of education and making an impact there, but doing so through the lens of my entrepreneurial management and political science degrees respectively."