She was raised in the segregated South and chose to become a teacher. An NGS “teacher consultant” since 1988, today Peggy Clay brings 34 years of classroom experience to National Geographic as its first Teacher-in-Residence... and it all began with winning an NGS Teacher Grant.

“Back then they taught us how to build a fire for the ancient pot-bellied stove, how to repair the textbooks the white schools discarded to use in our classes; they always encouraged us to be creative to overcome the disparity between our classrooms. They also taught us how important the profession of teaching is to every community.”

In 1995, Peggy applied to National Geographic’s Education Foundation for a Teacher Grant to train educators in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee about the critical role of the Tennessee River as the area’s social and economic backbone. She won $1,250 for “Gather at the River,” a workshop that brought together local teachers, professors, river barge operators, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. “Everyone ought to apply for one,” she says. “It’s seed money for change.”

Less than ten years after giving Peggy her first grant, National Geographic made her its first Teacher-in-Residence. In her new position Peggy speaks to D.C. schoolchildren about the wonder of geography, trains local educators in better methods of teaching, and brings new resources to classrooms.

• Peggy Clay speaks about the Civil Rights Memorial.
  
  
• Peggy is featured on the new National Geographic Television cable channel. Click here to see if the channel is available to you.