Alumni Spotlight – Verónica

We recently asked alumna Verónica, originally from Argentina, to tell us what she has been doing since leaving the program, and what some of her fondest memories were from her time teaching in the United States. Read below for Verónica’s responses!

Reflecting on her experience teaching in the U.S.

Q: What schools did you teach at and when?
A: I taught English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from 2002 to 2005. During my time, I taught at two schools in Rowan-Salisbury County, N.C.—Enochville Elementary School and Bostian Elementary School.

Q: What inspired you to apply to teach in the U.S.?
A: My eagerness to work in a multicultural environment, to learn about the American methodology of language acquisition as a first language, and to pack my toolkit with incredible strategies to assist foreign language learners.

Q: What did you enjoy most about your time teaching in the U.S.?
A: I enjoyed absolutely everything about my teaching experience in the U.S, but if I had to pick one I would say it was the fact that I could help ESOL children to upgrade their English level to succeed.

What life looks like now

Q: Where are you now? Are you living in your home country, another country, or did you go somewhere else?
A: I own and direct an English language institute, Sky English Institute, in my hometown, Rafaela, in Santa Fe Province. Here we teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to kids, teens, and adults.

Q: Do you have any other life updates that you would like to share with us and the Participate Learning network?
A:  I have been married to Gabriel for more than 20 years and we have formed a beautiful family, thanks to our three amazing adopted children. As a family, we really enjoy traveling to the beach or mountains to spend quality time together. We also enjoy selling our candies in different fairs. Four years ago we started a family business called A Punto Caramela. It is a candy shop on wheels that stops at different city fairs.

Share 3-5 facts about your time teaching in the U.S. Think about favorite memories, travel experiences, special moments, accomplishments, or other things that happened during your time with the program.

• I served as a Local Adviser and I enjoyed meeting the new incoming teachers from different countries.
• We lived in a complex where there were several Ambassador Teachers. We would have multicultural social gatherings where we shared dishes from our home countries.
• Me and my husband experienced our first ice storm during our first year in North Carolina. We were in lockdown and without power for three days and it was winter! I still have anecdotes from that experience!
• One of my favorite trips was to New York and Washington with my sister and her husband when they came to visit us in America.
• At one point, I won a VIF (now Participate Learning) contest for writing about my experience as a cultural exchange teacher.

Are you a former Participate Learning alumna or alumnus? Visit our ambassador alumni page for resources and to stay connected to other teachers who completed the program through our community of practice.