To the casual observer, Gustavus Adolphus College student Esther Mulder’s two-year commitment to help struggling kids in an inner city school in Florida may seem like a lot of time to give.

Mulder, who is one of nine Gustavus graduating seniors accepted into the Teach For America program, says it probably isn’t enough.

“You’re going to these schools where kids are at such a disadvantage ... Two years is almost not long enough,” said Mulder of Coon Rapids. “I believe education is the key to solving a lot of our social problems.”

Teach For America is a national corps of recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools. The organization’s mission is to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity that exists along socioeconomic and racial lines.

Gustavus’ acceptance rate this year of 30 percent surpassed last year’s and, in fact, soared beyond the national average of 20 percent. The college had more seniors accepted into the program than any other private college in the state.

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