Reflecting on Cohort 15 with SDP Fellow Rebecca Rangel

The very question that has shaped my time in SDP, “why me?”, is also something all of us have asked ourselves on the paths that brought us to the fellowship. So let me try to answer it for us.

Why me?
After hearing many of my cohort’s leadership stories, I know that for most of us, “making a measurable difference in education” wasn’t exactly the dream job we imagined when we were younger. Yet here we all are, doing exactly that.

Our cohort is an impressive group. We have program directors and policy analysts. Statisticians who taught themselves code and scholars who spent years doing research. People working in state government, universities, school districts, and nonprofits.

But here’s what really impresses me: not the titles, not the résumés, not the letters after some of my cohortmates’ names. What stands out is the choice they made. Because all of us could be somewhere else right now, chasing jobs that pay more, or are easier, or come with less pressure. Instead, they chose to be here. To put students at the center. To step into work that is complicated, messy, and often thankless, because we believe it matters.

And that’s why me. Because SDP Fellows are the kind of people who don’t just sit back and wonder who is going to fix things. We show up to do it ourselves. Even if the path that led us here wasn’t straight. Even if imposter syndrome shows up from time to time. We belong here. We earned your place here. And we have proven that we can take every obstacle thrown our way and turn it into impact.

Trust me, the effect size shows it wasn’t by chance.

So that’s why me. But the question doesn’t stop there. Because even once we know why we belong here, we’re still left asking: What can I do?

What can I do? This is a question I have been asking a lot lately. I know this past year has been hard for a lot of folks in our cohort. Positions were cut, funding ended, and priorities changed.  Even when I try to escape the ever-amounting challenges of working in education, I’ll scroll through Instagram and see people with my same background fear for their security in this country. Knowing the only thing that separates me from them is a piece of paper that makes me a citizen. 

it’s in those moments that the question hits hardest: What can I do? And if I’m honest, sometimes it feels like the answer is…nothing. Like the weight of the challenges in front of us is simply too much.

But here’s what I remind myself—and what I want to remind all of us here today: when we ask What can I do? we also need to remember: We are already doing it. And most importantly, we will not stop. 

You don’t find many Mexican women in research, especially those born to immigrant parents, who grew up learning English as a second language and became first-generation college graduates. And certainly not in education research. I always remind myself that even just my presence in this system matters, because I rarely see someone who looks like me. I know that my lived experiences give me a perspective to advocate for those without the same privileges. What I am doing in my career will benefit students with my background. I am proof that more people like me can reach this role one day.

The work is not easy. It has never been. Some days it leaves us tired, frustrated, or even questioning if it matters. And in those moments, it’s okay to step back, to take a breath, to have what I like to call a little “menty b.” But the important thing is—we don’t stay down. We regroup, we lean on each other, and we keep moving forward.

Because here’s the truth: there were fifty of us in this cohort, showing up every day. Fifty different perspectives. Fifty different skill sets. Fifty different reasons why we said yes to this work in the first place. And when you add us together, that’s a powerful force for change.

And it doesn’t stop with us. Across the SDP network, there are even more folks who wake up every day and choose to keep pushing for students, for equity, for opportunity. We are part of something bigger, a community that doesn’t give up.

So the next time that little voice whispers: Why me? What can I do? We can answer with confidence: I am here because I choose to be, I am doing work that matters, and I will not stop. 

I’m so grateful to be among you all today. And not to be cliché, but as we close this chapter of the fellowship, I know this is not an ending—it’s a beginning.  Wherever we go next, the work continues, and so does the community we’ve built.