Have you wondered where you are going to be a year or two from now? Take a look at these testimonials from some of our former volunteers!

Amy Dorsey
Arica
6 Month Program, 2010

My time in the English Opens Doors Program not only lead to friendships with my host family, my students, and other volunteers that are still going strong two years later, my experiences as a teacher pointed me down a career path I hadn’t previously considered (nor was previously qualified for). After returning from Chile, I began looking for jobs that would allow me to continue to utilize my Spanish and teaching skills. I managed to land my dream job - leading American high school students on service-learning trips in Costa Rica. I know that the primary reason I was hired was because of my background with the EODP.

After returning from Costa Rica I began working for the Office of International Programs at Georgetown University. I work with incoming international exchange students and outgoing study abroad students. Nothing is more rewarding to me to be able to share my experiences living in Chile with my students in order to encourage them to take that first step out of their comfort zone and get bit by the travel bug. I plan to apply to grad school to get my Master’s in International Education and hope to live and work abroad again in the future.

Jonathan Fleck
Antofagasta
8 Month Program, 2009

After I returned from the 8-month program in Antofagasta in 2009, I began a PhD program in Comparative Literature at UT-Austin.  Chile continues to be a big part of my life - I work a lot with Chilean literature, and I published translations of poems by the contemporary Chilean poet Oscar Hahn (who is originally from Iquique!).  I just finished my first year of graduate school, and will be researching in Brazil this summer to begin my Master’s thesis.

A lot what I learned in Chile is still helping me more than I can say, both professionally and personally.   The skills I learned in the classroom are helping me to be a better TA for literature classes, and the bond I formed with my host family is an inspiration.  I keep in touch with my host family via Facebook and email, and I am very glad that they are a part of my life.

Sena Moran
Antofagasta
4 Month Program, 2009

I moved from Florida to North Carolina after teaching English in Chile to get my Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling and Psychology at UNC Chapel Hill. I am specializing in psychiatric disability.

Teaching English in Antofagasta helped me to grow exponentially as a person. My experience opened my eyes to new ways of life and philosophies that I had never considered before. I value so much the rich and colorful Chilean culture and language that I absorbed while living with my host family. No classroom could have taught me what I learned in Chile! The experience has led me to focus on cultural differences in the experience and perception of mental illness and disability in my studies at UNC. When I graduate in 2012 I hope to counsel clients of diverse backgrounds, and I also aspire to be a bilingual therapist someday!

I have visited Chile twice since I left and I plan to visit many more times in the future!

Mary Voelbel
Mejillones
6 Month Program, 2006

After Mejillones, I still had a desire to strengthen my Spanish speaking skills and immerse myself in another culture. I spent the following year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, continued to teach English, and also worked for an American start-up company. Then, I was accepted to Harvard’s Graduate School of Education to pursue a masters with a concentration in Human Development and Psychology. I will graduate June 4th and then head across the country to San Francisco. I recently found a job as the Employer Outreach Coordinator for Upwardly Global. Upwardly Global is a nonprofit organization that helps highly-skilled immigrant, refugees, and asylees reclaim their careers in the United States and helps American employers discover and understand this hidden talent pool.

Mejillones definitely served as a great experience in its own right, but it also was a stepping stone to graduate school and now to my future work with immigrants in the US.

Russell Owen
Atacama
4 Month Program, 2008

I live in a small village named “Tyazo” in Western Rwanda, Nyamasheke District. I’m a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching English and Economics at a secondary school. I think my experience with the EODP helped me get into the Peace Corps (which has been very competitive lately). It almost served as an “internship” for me. I don’t think I would be where I am today without the EODP.

Matt Haydis
Maule
4 Month Program, 2009

Currently employed with a small real estate company, International Business Centers, however I will be attending SMU in Dallas this August to get my MBA.

Teaching English in Chile was an eye opening experience that was beyond what I had anticipated. Having never taught before, I faced challenges in the classroom and with the language that taught me to be more flexible, understanding and more creative while solving problems. Although some of these challenges were frustrating at the times, it without a doubt helped me in my growth of who I am today.

Although I am not a teacher and this experience has not sparked an interest in teaching, I feel that this experience has helped me grow and mature as an individual, allowing me to see life from a global / non USA media related perspective. And it … helped me get accepted to some of the MBA programs I applied to.

Kathleen O’Connell
Araucanía
6 Month Program, 2008

Following my time with EOD, I returned to the US and worked for one year as an admissions counselor for SIT Study Abroad, a third party study abroad provider specializing in experiential learning programs. More specifically, I worked with the programs located in Latin America, including 4 programs in Chile.

In addition to working at SIT, I have also been keeping up with my interest in Teaching English as a Foreign Language with ETS, rating the speaking portion of the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) exam on weekends. My experience with the English Opens Doors Program most definitely provided me with the experience needed to be able to rate the exam. I hope that in the future, this experience rating exams, will allow me to continue to work with non-native English speakers, in either a teaching or counseling capacity.

Most recently, I moved to Lima, Perú, where I am now in a two-year Master’s degree program at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, studying anthropology and Andean studies. I have already returned to Chile once last year to visit my host family, and I am hoping that now that I am in South America, I will be able to go more often.

Emily Volkert
Puerto Natales
8 Month Program, 2009

Teaching English in Chile not only opened doors for my 2nd - 8th grade students who perfected English phrases throughout their year with me, but also opened doors for myself.

I had never considered teaching as a career, but figured I’d give it a try through the EODP as a way to travel and experience another culture. As nervous as I was on my first day of school, I knew I had found my dream job as soon as I started teaching. I witnessed the enormous potential of my students and saw them progress every day, despite the fact that the school served only high-need, low-income students. After a school year in Puerto Natales, I could not wait to effect the same change in my own country. I will be teaching Elementary school as a Teach For America corps member as a result, and I couldn’t be more excited!