Teaching with Purpose: Stories from MTI Scholars—Brandon Thornton

The Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship isn’t just about financial support, it’s about building a future where every student sees themselves reflected in their educators. Across Illinois, MTI recipients are shaping classrooms, inspiring young minds, and making a lasting impact on their communities.

In this blog series, we’re highlighting the journeys of MTI scholars: how the scholarship has supported them, the challenges they’ve overcome, and the successes they’re achieving in classrooms across the state. Their stories underscore why programs like MTI are vital to ensuring a strong, diverse teacher workforce in Illinois. By elevating these voices, we hope to shed light on the power of representation in education and the role that dedicated, diverse educators play in student success. Through their experiences, we see firsthand how equitable access to the teaching profession strengthens schools, enriches learning, and transforms lives.

Hear from Brandon Thornton, Illinois State University, current teacher for District 87 Bloomington Public Schools: 

What inspired you to become a teacher? What subject or grade level do you work with? 

I teach high school special education ELA and math.  
 
When thinking about what inspired me to teach, we have to go back to 3rd grade. I’m on the bus, on my way to a new school. I remember the joy of smelling the fresh cut grass (beat/tone shift) and my humiliation as a 6th grade girl picked me up and removed me from her seat. I didn’t think the day could get any worse.  
 
I found the classroom and sat at my desk dreading that someone else would tell me I was in their seat. Then, in walks Ms. Michels in her Sunday’s best.  
 
She looked like me.  
She looked like my aunties at church.  
She looked like home. 
 
I immediately sat up in my seat and I smiled. I felt like I belonged. 
 
In Ms. Michels class I loved learning for the first time. I remember running off the bus to show off new skills to anyone who would listen. 
 
My love for learning put me on track to Honors English as a ninth grader. I was one out of the five Black kids in a class of over 400 which seemed cool at the time.  
 
I remember the jokes — Everyone called me an Oreo; Black on the outside, white on the inside, which seemed cool at the time. Actually, I used to wear it like a badge of honor, not really understanding the weight of the qualities they equated to Blackness, and not really understanding who my classmates wanted me to be. 
 
I pondered my identity outside of the classroom too when I joined Cross Country. Every Thursday, we would have pasta parties as a way to load up on carbs, but it was also a way to show off your home. I had to smile and laugh when their parents would shake my hand and say how surprised they were at how articulate I was given that I lived “below the hill” -- the same parents who had told their sons and daughters that they couldn’t come to my pasta party if I hosted, given that I lived “below the hill.” I’ll let you guess what “below the hill,” really means.  
 
But, I persisted in showing up. Creating fake versions of myself to make those around me feel more comfortable. No one could know the real me, and as such, almost no one knew I was gay.  
 
Luckily, there was one place where life went on -- the classroom. My teachers always saw me as me, not as an outcast or an Oreo, not as an exception, but as exceptional -- and that unspoken permission to live authentically allowed me to thrive academically. It gave me the strength to choose Brandon, the real Brandon, and now a profession that allows me to be my own version of Ms. Michels everyday.  
 

Are there barriers that you recognize or experienced to becoming a teacher? 

As early as 5th grade, it was understood that I was on my own for college. Those were the exact words from my mom — said with a mix of love and shame. So, I worked hard until I was admitted into the honors track in 9th grade, but it came with sacrifices.  
 
For the first time, I was suddenly “the token Black kid” in my classes. This isolation has been consistent in my undergraduate, masters, and doctoral cohort — and now in my school where I can count the number of Black teachers on one hand. 
 
Clearly, there are many systemic barriers preventing Black males from joining the 2% of educators across the country. So, at the very least, we should continue to provide solutions on college affordability. 

How have you used the MTI scholarship to assist you on your path to becoming an educator? 

None of my successes would exist if not for the MTI scholarship…because even with the Pell grant, MAP grant, and academic scholarships, I was still expected to cover thousands of dollars per semester before being awarded the MTI scholarship -- and my experience is not unique.  
 
The MTI process also gave me the opportunity to apply for merit and need-based scholarships I wouldn't have known about if not being connected to them from the financial aid office. The MTI process provided my alma mater a chance to connect with me, recruit me to the profession, and retain me. I ended my first year at Illinois State in the Honors Program, and with a laptop, and a mentor to help keep me on track. I owe everything to the MTI. 

How did you learn about the MTI scholarship? 

College Counselor, Financial Aid Office