Departing Thoughts!

Studying abroad has been the biggest dream of mine ever since I was a young boy. I was always told by my parents and teachers to always follow my dreams but I knew that this was going to be the one that I definitely made into a reality. However, funding a study abroad program just did not seem feasible with the situation that I was living in. Attending college was almost impossible, let alone, attending college and funding a study abroad program. I grew up in a family where living paycheck-to-paycheck was our only way of survival. Times were tough and it got even worse when my parents separated in 2006. At the age of 12, I thought my whole world was coming down. I was dealing with my parent’s divorce, the coming-of-age, and trying to discover who I was as a person. I was forced to work part-time in order to pay for my own personal expenses while attending school where I maintained good grades and high involvement in organizations. It was the most difficult six year of my life, but it all paid off. I worked extremely hard to find all the resources I could to achieve my goal of being the first person in my family to attend college. The results were phenomenal when I received my acceptance letter to the University of Missouri. My first step in studying abroad was accomplished!

                When I came to Mizzou, one of the many things that I heard was that studying abroad as a student in the College of Education was nearly impossible. With the rigorous course schedule, all of my studying abroad opportunities during the semester faded away. Any hope that I had to achieve my dream disappeared. However, then one email changed it all. I was sitting in class one afternoon, wishing I was outside enjoying the lovely fall weather when an email appeared. It was from the College of Education Center for International and Intercultural Initiatives. They were announcing for the first time, their inaugural summer program to teach abroad in South Africa. All of my worries were suddenly gone and my next step was presented to me.

I applied to teach abroad in South Africa for several reasons. I have always been intrigued to learn about a variety of different cultures and the world around me. As the world becomes a much smaller place, it becomes necessary for an individual to educate themselves about the diversity that makes up the larger society. As a future elementary teacher, I feel like I have an obligation to educate myself as such. Classrooms across the United States are becoming the most diverse environments of all time and it is essential that educators are aware of the different learning abilities of the culturally different children in their own classroom. Through my study abroad program in South Africa, I believe that I will learn the skills I need to effectively educate a wide range of diverse students so I applied. In late January, I received one of the most important documents of all time; my acceptance letter into the program. My biggest dream in life was finally coming true.

During my involvement with the MU Teach Abroad program, I hope to contribute my knowledge and skills that will help the students be successful in their academic and personal endeavors. To accomplish this, I must possess the ability to lead, inspire, and innovate. Through leadership, I want to prove that I have the ability to lead a classroom of culturally diverse students. Through inspiration, I want to make an impact on the students by giving them an academic education but also a life education; to teach them to always pursue their dreams like I am currently doing. Lastly, through innovation, I want to implement the American educational culture into my Teach Abroad experience and share with my international host school the different traditions of American education that will hopefully result in academic success for the students. Above all, I not only want my Teach Abroad adventure to be a learning experience for my students, but a learning experience for myself as well. I want to gain a wider perspective of the world by immersing myself in this life-changing opportunity. I want to gain satisfaction of accomplishing my goal of helping others in under-developed countries while at the same time developing relationships and friendships that will last for the rest of my life.

I have so much to look forward during my teach abroad program in South Africa. Yet, there are many things that I am still struggling with as a participant in the program. Funding was one of the largest barriers I had to overcome to apply to teach abroad. Although it still remains a large issue for me as a participant, I am confident that I can discover the resources I need to fund this once in a lifetime experience. I am also nervous for the trip itself. I have traveled to many places across the United States. From Washington D.C. to Orlando and Nashville to Detroit, I have been to a lot of places. Yet, I have never traveled outside of the United States. I don’t know what the rest of the world is like. Discovering the diversity of the world is one of the many things that I look forward to but it still makes me very nervous. I don’t know what to expect or really what I am doing. So I hope that I can find peace with these worries and enjoy the time that I will have in South Africa.