From Emmitsburg to Bangkok.
It's crazy to think that I am 2 months shy of officially
being graduated from the Mount for a full year.
The past 8 months have honestly been the craziest, most exciting, life
changing months of my life. So let's go back to Spring 2014. As I'm currently writing
this post while sitting on a ferry headed to an island in Thailand, I can't
help but stop and think, “How the heck did I get here?!”
I can vividly remember that once my basketball career had come to an end, graduation was just around the corner and I honestly had NO clue what I wanted to do with my life once I left the Mount. And as we all know, post-graduation means questions, and I wanted to be prepared with answers. The only thing I was confident about was that come fall time, I would be working somewhere outside of the U.S. I've always had a desire to travel and work internationally so I had at least a start to a plan.
I spent a lot of my time brainstorming ideas with a
professor in my business major department (Sandra Sjoberg). She wasn't my advisor,
but was just someone who I respected and felt very comfortable seeing/talking
to on a daily basis, especially because she has spent a lot of time working
internationally. She had a former student who taught English in Russia through
a company called Language Corps. The Mount is the type of community where
professors build relationships with their students, because they truly wish the
best for them. Without Professor
Sjoberg, I would have never even considered teaching internationally. She helped guide me throughout the end of my
college career, and helped supply me with the support and confidence I needed
to embark on this journey. The community we have at the Mount is definitely
something that I didn't honestly appreciate until after I left the Mount. After
talking to a Mount alum who had worked in Russia through Language Corps, I
instantly knew that this is what I wanted to do. So I applied, packed my bags
and moved to SE Asia to become an English teacher.
It's been 8 months since I've left. I have learned a lot
since I've been here, and I think one of the main things I've learned is to
appreciate where you've been, and where you're going. The Mount shaped me into
a woman who was brave enough to move to SE Asia on her own. The Mount gave me
the confidence I needed to leave my comfort zone. The Mount helped me build lifelong
relationships, friendships and connections. Everyone has a different story that
consists of different experiences. Everyone has a unique journey that develops
them into the individual they are. I wouldn't be on this journey in Thailand,
if it wasn't for the Mount.
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