Alumna Look: Jessica Kaufman, Part I

After graduating from Mount St. Mary's last year with a degree in Business and a minor in Communications, Jessica Kaufman '14 traveled to Southeast Asia to teach English to children Thailand. Here is a powerful snippet from her blog:

 

 

"7 months ago, I left everything that was comfortable in my life, to move half way across the world to be an English teacher in SE Asia. At the age of 22, with nothing but an over packed suitcase, an empty passport, and some cash saved up, I embarked on arguably the craziest journey of my life. My teaching here in Thailand is coming to an end this week, and I can confidently say that I have gained more knowledge from teaching abroad than I could have ever imagined.  Here are the top 8 things that the mini humans/teaching in Thailand taught me:

1. Courage

 

I moved half way across the world, having never been to Asia before, didn’t know the language, didn’t know a single person living here, had ZERO qualifications to be a teacher… in other words it was easily the scariest moment of my existence. I will never forget the adrenaline rush that overcame me when I stepped off that plane in Cambodia. But most importantly, I will never forget the courage it took to get on that plane in the first place...."

 

To read the other seven things Jessie's experience have taught her, as well as more about Jessie's amazing year teaching in Thailand and see all of the amazing pictures, click HERE to access her blog.

Part II - In our next blog post, we will hear specifically from Jessie about how her time at the Mount helped prepare her to embark upon her Thailand teaching experience.