This paper is based on open-ended group interviews with 11 graduate students of color who had tried and rejected other occupations (such as journalism, marketing, nutrition, social work, youth counseling, secretarial work, waitressing, fashion merchandising, theater, medical claims examiner, and public relations) for teaching. The study examined: how social contextual influences, past and present, affected these career changes; and what can be learned about ways to improve the teacher education experience. Subjects contributed perspectives on what prompted their decision to change occupations. Results suggest that these individuals: (1) do not equate self-advancement with abandoning the community but rather acquiring the resources to "give back" some of what was learned there and elsewhere; (2) exemplify commitment to education that serves broad social as well as personal aims; (3) view themselves as change agents and advocates for social justice; and (4) are dedicated to enlarging the circle of those who matter to them, beyond their immediate families and beyond the challenges of a single classroom, school, or neighborhood. (LL)