Volunteer Spotlight: Lena Angel

“I faced some challenges, and ATPE supported me through them,” she says. “I have that experience to bring to the table when talking to other educators. This is going to sound very colloquial, but sometimes the ‘crazy’ comes to you. I tell them I [had been] in education for years. I never thought I would need legal help, but I did. I’m a rule follower, but there are situations that are completely out of your control. I let them know it’s going to save them so much time, headache, and money to have ATPE on their side.”

Angel also found that emphasizing ATPE’s advocacy efforts not only makes for a strong recruiting pitch but also allows her to inspire hope among her colleagues—something many educators need in challenging times.

“It is really easy and understandable right now for people in education to feel hopeless,” Angel says. “They see a lot of things happening at the local, state, and national levels, and it’s easy to succumb to hopelessness. But a great friend of mine once said, ‘Hope is not a feeling; it’s a decision.’ By taking small actions like joining ATPE, that’s already a step in the right direction. I think making small steps is what will keep you hopeful.”

Angel often explains to potential members how ATPE can help educators take these small actions through advocacy and training.

“ATPE will provide you the means to be trained to advocate for public education,” Angel says. “You can go to the Capitol and speak to your representative. If you want to get involved at the local level with the school district, they’ll provide you with information and training so you feel comfortable and confident doing that. Even just sharing information from ATPE can be a small step.”

Recruiting at a Large District

Working in a large district means Angel and other campus representatives may not see every educator at their campus each day. She says maintaining a good relationship with her administration has been crucial to promoting ATPE to her colleagues.

Besides setting up an ATPE table at new teacher orientations, Angel has also asked permission to speak to educators at other campus events.

“Getting in front of the staff is so important at a big school because you’re not going to see them on a daily basis,” Angel says. “At a faculty meeting or maybe a professional development day, I would ask my principal if I could introduce myself or set up a table, and sometimes he would say yes.”

Angel says finding opportunities to get in front of educators helps build word-of-mouth awareness about ATPE on campus. She also spreads the word by distributing ATPE flyers and materials across multiple departments and sharing information about local unit social events. However, she says the most effective way to tell the ATPE story comes from members themselves.

“Word of mouth is huge. Once you help one person—once you’ve helped a couple people—word starts to spread through campus.”

Ultimately, whether you are on a large campus or a small one, Angel believes the key to success as a campus representative comes down to communication.

“It really is just doing things to make sure people know about ATPE,” she says. “You’re really just communicating with them.”