LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — For the first time in more than a decade, Teach for America's major national summit is back and marking the milestone with a new location.
Tim Hughes, the executive director of Teach for America Nevada said the summit typically occurs every five years, but the pandemic brought on the pause.
"This is the first time we're outside of D.C., so we're excited to be the host here in Las Vegas," Hughes said.
More than 7,000 people from across the country gathered in Las Vegas for the event, marking the organization's 35th anniversary.
The summit brought together education, business, policy, and philanthropy leaders to discuss the future of education.
"It's really a way for us to celebrate the progress we've made over the past 35 years and sort of reflect on, you know, what's better for kids as a result of our work, but also think about what's next," said Hughes.
Among the participants are Brittany and Grant Monda, education leaders who met in Memphis and are using the summit to celebrate their anniversary.
"Before you're ever placed in the classroom, they do a lot of training, and so we ended up sitting next to each other on like the first week," Grant Monda said. "I kept pretending that I was losing my pencil so I would get to talk with Brittany."
"I was like, how many pens do I have to bring in my bag?" Brittany Monda said.
Several months later, they started dating. Five years after that, they said "I do" and now have three kids.
"We were both school leaders for a while, so we were in competition, and then she moved into a role that became my boss, and so she was my boss at home and my boss at work. So it was a delicate line for me, but a good one," Grant Monda said.
In true Vegas style, the Mondas are renewing their vows at the summit, along with more than 50 other couples who met through Teach for America.
"I was joking with someone, it might be better than some of the online dating apps in finding the person for you," Grant Monda said.
"I found my person and my purpose throughout this," said Brittany Monda.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
