I am infinitely curious. I travel to expand my horizons.
My Journey
Experiential learning through study abroad and student travel is challenging, rewarding, and 100% worth it. Travel requires teachers and students alike to stretch their ideas and challenge their preconceptions.
My life as a Global Teacher
Global Learning Fellowship
During the 2017-2018 school year, I received a Global Learning Fellowship from the NEA Foundation. The fellowship included an initial conference in Washington, D.C., monthly trainings and professional development, a trip to South Africa to learn from educators there and explore their school system, and a culminating project collaborating with other fellows to contribute to the book Twelve Lessons to Open Classrooms and Minds to the World.
JET Program
Assistant Language Teacher
I traveled to Japan as a part of the JET Program to work as an Assistant Language Teacher at Takaoka-Ryukoku High School. Japan was an amazing experience, and being embedded in a school for an entire year allowed me to collaborate with and learn from many different teachers. I enjoyed getting to know my students and am eager to return to Japan in the future.
Fulbright Grant
Assistant Language Teacher
After my impactful Study Abroad experience in Austria my junior year of university, I earned a Fulbright Grant to work at Hannah Arendt Berufsschule in Germany. Being able to practice my language and learn firsthand about the German education system had a tremendous impact on me and my future career as a teacher.
My Additional Education Travels
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South Africa
I traveled with a group of 48 educators from across the United States. We toured schools in South Africa, learned from South African teachers and students, and had the great fortune to experience a different school system.
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Kenya
As a graduate student, I traveled to Kenya with a group of students as part of my thesis research. We traveled to a primary school and met students and teachers alike. Each visit to a different country’s school allow me to reexamine my own practices as a teacher.
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Iceland
As an enthusiastic language learner, I took a course in Icelandic through the University of Minnesota. This culminated in a 3-week study abroad in Reykjavik with daily classes at the University of Reykjavik.
MA Thesis Topic
To learn more about the impact of study abroad on participating students, I conducted extensive research on short-term study abroad as part of my Master’s thesis.
Introductory Summary:
Short-term study abroad has become increasingly popular in the last few years. While some view this as a positive trend because it allows a broader audience of individuals to participate in study abroad, others are concerned that these trips are simply a form of tourism. This project works to explore the impact that short-term study abroad programs have on participating students, utilizing a variety of methods including participant observation to acquire data. Furthermore, the following thesis works to situate short-term study abroad within the transformation debate which pervades the field of study abroad, ultimately considering these programs through an ethnographic framework.
Edge, Chelsea, E., Short-term Study Abroad: Representations and Transformations, MA, International Studies, May, 2012.
