MEET THE ITA STAFF

I decided to teach English in South Korea because my parents and siblings are originally from Daegu, South Korea. Out of the four children in my family I was the only one born and raised in Chicago.

I had just finished college and my term at AmeriCorps was about to end, so I decided to apply to teach English in Seoul, South Korea. I wanted to learn more about my parents’ culture and heritage, I was also looking for an adventure. I didn’t know what I was capable of until I was thrown into a foreign country and culture without any friends, family, or much money.

Once I was situated in Daegu, I started to feel a great sense of freedom. I became much more active in this foreign land than in my native Chicago. I ate incredible food, traveled to other countries and cities, and made some great friends along the way. T

Teaching English gave me an occupation and purpose while I was diving into a new world. I learned so much about myself during that special year in my life. I found out that I had the ability to adapt and learn much faster than I originally thought. I gained confidence knowing that I could actually make a home for myself in a country that I never thought I would call home. My time in South Korea was a wonderful gift that continues to keep giving to me today.

I am from Libertyville, Illinois. I attended college at Binghamton University with a major in Human Development and Concordia University with a Masters in Educational Administration.

I worked in Daegu, South Korea for 1-year teaching English and traveled throughout Vietnam.

South Korea, Vietnam, China, Netherlands, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic.

I went to Italy to visit my friend who was studying abroad. At the time, I had never left North America, so I was extremely excited and spontaneously booked my flight. On the plane ride, I was excited about the prospects of what Italy would bring, not thinking about any potential challenges that might arise. All I could think about was how I was about to see a new culture and eat some incredible food. That feeling on the plane is something that has continued to drive me to travel abroad to other countries.

In my first few days in Daegu, I went to a restaurant at the corner of my block to buy a Korean snack called geem-bop. I was nervous because I was only able to understand some Korean at the time and my ability to speak the language was even worse. I decided to just point to one of the geem-bop meals on their menu instead of speaking and I could hear the two ladies working at the restaurant speaking to one another wondering why I couldn’t just tell them what I wanted to order. To them, I looked like a local Korean man that should be able to communicate what he wanted to eat with ease. Although I got the geem-bop that I desired that day, the encounter left me a bit discouraged as I realized that I had the challenge of adapting into a world that didn’t even know that I was a foreigner. As time passed, I was able to grow more confident and comfortable with my surroundings and eventually became a regular at the geem-bop restaurant and have fond memories of that restaurant.

Korean barbecue and pretty much anything in Italy is just incredible.

I love being in an environment where all my coworkers have life-changing stories from their times abroad. I also enjoy working with people that are as weird as I am. Helping guide prospective TEFL students towards their goal of teaching abroad is truly a dream come true.