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Five years ago, when I was awarded a BA in International Relations, I vowed I would not be another U.S. college graduate teaching English abroad. In fact, I wanted a career in anything but education. I foresaw a career in international economic development or even perhaps as a diplomat. Oh, how my tune changed not even one year after I was awarded that degree.
Opportunity presented itself and I found myself with two bags, my partner and best friend, and a one-way ticket to Brazil. No job, little savings, supposedly sound accommodations. That was enough. What started out as an adventure became a pathway to my first, and possibly last, career: international education.
I did inevitably teach English abroad, and I loved it. The curiosity of my students to learn more about my language and culture and their generosity to share theirs was enlightening. It opened a critical lens of education systems, and the equity and exposure within. It made me reflect on my own experiences, my own privilege. I wanted to harness that passion into a career upon my return to the States.
I journeyed back to my time as an au pair in Spain. The miserable experience that shied me away from a career in education in the first place. I thought back to my impactful study abroad experience in Namibia. The times our program would laugh at how frequently our director would boisterously shout, “It all comes back to EDUCATION!” at every opportunity he had (or didn’t have), only to have tears fill our eyes as we made a surprise visit to his village’s school which bears his name out of respect to his contributions to educational policy. To the moment speaking with my students, now my closest friends in Brazil, about educational policy and the impact of international education in a globalized world.
I do acknowledge the privilege I have had to develop these experiences. Nonetheless, they have shaped me to become who I am today and what I hope to accomplish in life. Those experiences have also made me appreciate the impact of experiential, international learning on 21st century education. My professional experiences since returning to the U.S. in international recruitment, admissions, and services, as well as study abroad, have exposed me to the intricacies of higher education administration and the barriers to and opportunities for global education. More so, my professional and personal experiences have heightened my awareness of the importance of internationalizing campuses, from curriculum to services to the promotion and accessibility of study abroad.
As a student in the ELPA Global Higher Education program, I hope to further develop the skills necessary to make a positive impact on campuses throughout the world to develop comprehensive internationalization efforts. I want to harness my experiences, this personal revelation, to make a beneficial impact on the life of even one student, on just one campus. This is why I chose international education.
- Samantha McCabe, ELPA LEADS Global Higher Ed and Student Affairs Chair