WorldTeach

Meet a Few WorldTeach Volunteers

Jeff Miller, Costa Rica

Host Community: Marbella, a small beach town on the west coast of Costa Rica
Before WorldTeach: Student at Northwestern University
After WorldTeach: Short-term international development work in Uzbekistan, then onto the Boston Consulting Group's L.A. office.

Jeff's students had never played
basketball with a real hoop and ball, so he asked friends and family from home to donate money so he could build a basketball court in his town. He shoveled sand from a nearby river to mix with the cement, hauled construction materials in a local cattle truck, had a friend in San José make the backboard from tropical hardwood and had a local welder make the pole. Friends from home brought the rim on a visit.

"Since the court was erected, the basketballs have not stopped bouncing, and can be heard on any night until at least 11 o'clock at night. Everybody in town, from 5-year-old girls to 45-year-old men are taking at least a mild interest. And I can add to my ever increasing list of nicknames Chaqi Oni (Shaquile O'Neil )and Mical Zordan."

Host Community: Waldfrieden Primary School, Omaruru, Namibia
Before WorldTeach: Retired educator with more than 30 years of teaching experience
After WorldTeach: Returned to Utah to spend time with her children, but plans to apply to teach in China with WorldTeach in the next few years!

Daimar Robinson served as a volunteer teacher in Namibia when she was 67 years old. She speaks out on the benefits of the WorldTeach Experience for young volunteers and senior citizens:

"The truth is, it does not really matter how old a person is. WorldTeach changed my life, and being a teacher, mother, doctor, and friend to my students in Namibia enriched my life.

"WorldTeach is an in-depth teacher training experience unmatched even by most teacher training programs in America. The WorldTeach program in Namibia opens the door for volunteers to gain a firsthand understanding of a culture unlike their own, to discover that there is more than one way to learn and live and contribute to society.

"The very fact that WorldTeach welcomes young adults who may not necessarily have a background in education, and permits them to develop their own teaching style to fit the school and environment in which they serve, encourages them to be confident, creative, and resourceful educators.

"If education is really our hope for the future, WorldTeach is a vital resource that builds productive lives and economic well-being."

Host Community: Tena, a town in the rainforest region of Ecuador
Before WorldTeach: Freshman at Harvard University
After WorldTeach: Economics Major

"The preparation and support I received as a teacher and as an American living in a developing country was more than I could have hoped for. My host family was extremely nice, the room I stayed in was much better than I expected, there was a hot shower, bottled water, and good food. Tena certainly felt like it was in the middle

of the jungle, but the people were friendly and it was clean and safe.

"Spending a summer as a WorldTeach volunteer at the beginning of my college career has made a significant impact on the way I have approached my remaining years in college. I never imagined that I would spend the summer following my freshman year in Ecuador, but it happened. The experience has taught me to broaden my aspirations beyond that which I already know or expect, and to seek out the tremendous opportunities to which I have never been exposed. Whereas previously I had felt pressure to determine my career goals early and then shape my college experience around preparing to reach those goals, my summer with WorldTeach has given me the confidence to use my college experience for exploration as well as preparation. I now realize that I would be disappointed if my goals at the end of college matched my goals going into college."

"In addition to changing my approach to my college experience, WorldTeach also gave me confidence that non-traditional careers can be very rewarding. It is much easier to pursue a career that guarantees a comfortable life, a set career path, and job security than to pursue a career path in which there are no guarantees. However, I learned from my experience in Ecuador that there are intangible benefits that come with serving others that make the experience worthwhile and perhaps more rewarding than a more traditional career."

Back to top

Patricia Yurkinas, China

Host School: Nanshan Bilingual School in Longkou (2 hrs from Yantai city), Shondong Province, China
Before WorldTeach: Taught high school math for 7 years
After WorldTeach: Continues to teach math in a public high school.

"The children were more than enthusiastic about their lessons. Imagine a seven year old shouting an answer at you as loud as he/she can manage. Now multiply that by forty-two and you will have an idea of what my classroom often sounded like after I posed a question. When I asked them to raise their hands instead of yelling out they would scream to be called on.

"Every time I entered the school grounds, I was treated as though I just fell from the sky. One child would initially spot me, shout "Patricia!" (that's what they called me), and soon the entire schoolyard population would be screaming my name. And it was not uncommon to get wrapped up by dozens of little arms that dragged with me as I tried to make my way along. It was bedlam - every time."

Host Community: Jaluit, Jaluit Atoll, the most developed of the outer island communities, population roughly 500
Before WorldTeach: A married couple living on an island in Puget Sound in Washington state. Scott was a high school teacher and Laura was a program coordinator for the local park district.
After WorldTeach: Both received one-year leaves of absence from their jobs. Since WorldTeach, the couple has resumed their previous employment and had their first child, Eloise.

Scott and Laura knew they were heading into parenthood. However, both felt they wanted to devote one year of their lives to volunteer service before they had a child. They were eager for the adventure, the change of lifestyle and the chance to give back to the world. As a working couple and leaving both jobs in mid-career, they chose to work with WorldTeach because it offered the best support out of all the volunteer organizations they researched. Upon arriving in Jaluit, the couple was positive they had made the right choice for their future.

"Life is so much more than a 9 to 5 job. Your experiences, the friends you make and the people you love are the true rewards. Living in a small village where friends and family are everything helped to prepare us for the joys of parenthood and the sweetness of a more simplified lifestyle. It is so easy to forget ourselves in the hustle and bustle of our busy American lives, however, being around such joyful people, such good natured students, who have so little materially yet so much in spirit, helped us to step back from our lives and reassess our true values."

Laura and Scott still keep in contact with their school and community in Jaluit. They are proud of their experiences there, the challenges they overcame together and the sweet experiences that they are able to recapture for Eloise in her Good Night stories.

Back to top