Show Notes

In this episode, I speak with Rita Dawod, a former physics and science teacher who is now a Partnership Manager at NextWave STEM. Rita’s story is a powerful one for any teacher who loves the classroom but is considering a change. For years, she felt a sense of "guilt" about leaving—a feeling she describes as "cheating on my kid and cheating on the school."

Rita shares how she overcame that guilt by reframing her skills. She had a lightbulb moment: teaching is sales. She explains how she was "selling to the kids at all times" to get them excited about learning. Today, she uses that exact same skill to connect with school leaders, build trust, and help them bring emerging STEM technologies to their students. This conversation is a masterclass in understanding your own transferable skills and finding a new role that scales your passion.

• The "Teacher Guilt": Rita gets honest about the "little bit of guilt" that kept her from even looking for a new job for two years, and how she moved past it.
• Teaching is Sales: Her core insight—as a teacher, she was "selling to the kids at all times." She explains how she would frame physics lessons as the solution to their goals, like becoming a better skateboarder.
• Credibility is Key: How her 5 years of classroom experience give her "a little bit of extra trust" with school administrators. She's not just a salesperson; she's an educator who can authentically say, "This is the kind of solution that I would have loved."
• The Search Process: How she approached her job search by "selling me." She reached out to hiring managers on LinkedIn to explain "how my experience as an educator will benefit your education company."
• Staying Connected: Rita's wonderful advice for transitioning teachers: stay in contact with your former students. She still writes letters of rec and gets updates, which helps her stay connected to her "why."

Episode Article

For many passionate educators, the thought of leaving the classroom comes with a heavy dose of "teacher guilt." My guest, Rita Dawod, knows that feeling well. As a former physics teacher with five years of experience, she loved her students, but she had been considering a change for years. "I never actually searched," she admits, "I just felt guilty. I felt like I was cheating on my kid and cheating on the school."

Today, Rita is a Partnership Manager at NextWave STEM, an edtech company that provides K-12 schools with curriculum for drones, robotics, 3D printing, and AI. Her job title is in sales, but as she explains, her day-to-day work is almost identical to what she did in the classroom. Her big "aha" moment was realizing that great teaching is sales. "I feel like I'm selling to the kids at all times," she says. "I'm trying to explain to them, you know, what are you looking for? Okay. Now, let me tell you this thing."

She describes "selling" physics by connecting it to her students' existing passions. "You want to be a better skateboarder? You want to invent this?... Okay, because you want to do that, let's learn this thing... That's sales."

Now, she applies that same skill to school administrators. Her teaching background is her greatest asset, giving her "a little bit of extra trust" from the moment a conversation begins. She isn't just a vendor; she's a former teacher who understands their challenges. "I always like to mention, 'I was a teacher and this is the kind of solution that I would have loved.'" This allows her to have organic conversations about why STEM is so critical for 21st-century jobs and, just like with her students, get school leaders excited about what's possible.

When she finally decided to make the leap, she applied this "sales" mindset to her job search. "I felt like I was in sales before I started sales," she jokes, "because I had to try to sell me." She was persistent, reaching out to hiring managers on LinkedIn and asking for a few minutes to "explain how my experience as an educator will benefit your education company."

For anyone feeling that same guilt about leaving, Rita's story is a powerful reminder that you can make a change and stay connected to your "why." Her advice? "Stay in contact with a lot of my old students." She still writes letters of recommendation and gets updates from them—a perfect way to continue making an impact while you "keep going with your own life."