“Kids Can Think”: How GeauxTeach Helped Tailenn Fungcharoen-McCray Find Her Purpose in Math Education
September 23, 2025
For Tailenn Fungcharoen-McCray, STEM education is about more than just equations and experiments. It’s about connection. As a GeauxTeach student, she says the program has shaped her teaching by showing her "the power of observation and connection.” This summer, through the Marjorie Lee Browne STEM Fellowship, she co-led a team of middle school students in hands-on STEM labs, where discovery sparked laughter, confidence, and curiosity.
– Credit: The Marjorie Lee Browne STEM Education Fellowship/Memphis Teacher Residency Program.
In Louisiana, and across the nation, schools are struggling to staff middle and high school math and science classrooms. Vacancies persist, and many roles are filled by teachers working outside their certification. State reports are clear: shortages in math and science make it difficult to place well-prepared STEM teachers where students need them most.
That’s the landscape Tailenn Fungcharoen-McCray walked into—one she hopes to change from the front of a classroom.
Tailenn’s path to teaching wasn’t linear. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, she explored forensic biology before realizing she craved more human connection.
Fellowship participants guided students through mini-experiments to explore chemical reactions using observation and the five senses. Here, Tailenn and a co-fellow watch as a student prepares to mix a water solution with yeast.
“I didn’t just enjoy doing math; I loved helping others understand it,” she says. When she transferred to LSU, GeauxTeach provided the on-ramp she needed. “From my very first GeauxTeach class (SCI 2010 Step 1), I felt welcomed and at home. What started as a happy accident has become my purpose.”
GeauxTeach blends strong STEM content with early classroom experience, lesson-design practice, and mentorship, so prospective teachers learn by doing.
“GeauxTeach has shaped my teaching by showing me the power of observation and connection,” she says. “Watching experienced teachers interact with their students and colleagues gave me a model for the kind of educator I want to become. I’ve learned that being relatable, speaking with confidence, and leading with honesty are just as important as delivering content. Those values came directly from my mentor teachers, meeting people and schools I would’ve never crossed paths with if it wasn’t for this program. GeauxTeach has also affirmed the fact that when I show up as my best self, my students will feel inspired to show up fully in class, too.”
This summer, Tailenn deepened her preparation through the Marjorie Lee Browne STEM Fellowship, a month-long program for rising 7th–8th graders led by college students of color. She co-taught fractions, supported “Open Math Time,” and watched campers dive into courses like Truth, Lies, and Logic and Count Without Counting. “Teachers don’t always have to be the experts in the room,” she says. “Powerful learning happens when we discover things together.”
“ Kids can think. When expectations are high and clear, students rise to meet them. ”
Equity is central to her “why.” After sessions on faith and the civil rights movement, and a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum, Tailenn put it this way: “I don’t have to be MLK or Rosa Parks; I just have to be Ms. McCray… showing up for students and creating space for them to grow.”
In four weeks, Tailenn saw both her “glows” and growth areas: connecting with students comes naturally; classroom management and questioning strategies are skills she’s intentionally sharpening. She now frames lessons so “kids do the thinking” and resists the instinct to “take the pencil” from a student’s hand, letting them own the breakthrough. “Kids can think,” she says. “When expectations are high and clear, students rise to meet them.”
That philosophy travels with her back to LSU classrooms and into her future career. “On a practical level, GeauxTeach equips you with communication skills and the ability to design thoughtful, intentional, and reflective lesson plans, tools that are valuable in any profession, not just teaching,” she says. “On a heartfelt level, GeauxTeach has truly become a family for me. After losing my mother earlier this year, it was the support, patience, and love of this community that carried me through and gave me the strength to finish the semester strong. It’s more than a program—it’s a place where you’ll grow as both a professional and as a person.”
During “Open Math Time,” Tailenn listens as a student explains his solution before she signs off, reinforcing confidence and clear communication in problem-solving. This session was one of many fellowship activities designed to deepen middle schoolers’ engagement with math.
As a Black and Asian woman pursuing STEM, Tailenn also understands the power of representation: she wants students to see that “not only is it possible to be like me, they can be even better.”
Tailenn’s trajectory is exactly what programs like GeauxTeach are built for: turning strong STEM students into confident, classroom-ready educators who can widen access to high-quality math and science learning. She sums up her goal simply: students should leave her class “better than when they arrived, already mathematicians and scientists in their own right.”
"You will never be asked to change who you are,” she says. “GeauxTeach will accept you for what you bring to the table and refine those gifts in a way where you will feel confident as an educator. All you need to do is take the first step (Step 1)!”
Thinking about teaching math or science?
GeauxTeach helps LSU students pair STEM depth with real classroom practice, mentorship,
and a clear path to certification. Learn more about the undergraduate certification
on the GeauxTeach website.