The love of travel and enthusiasm to experience new cultures has inspired Emily Georgoulis, senior math education major, to venture to Whangarei, New Zealand to teach abroad during the spring semester.
“I love traveling,” Georgoulis said. “I’ve been to Europe and South America. I knew I wanted to go somewhere that I would never have to opportunity to go to again, and there was no other place that really called out to me, so I decided ‘I’m going to choose New Zealand.’”
While in Whangarei, Georgoulis will be teaching math and physics at Exellere College, the equivalent to a high school in the United States.
As well as traveling to a new place, the opportunity to expand her skills as a teacher and be pushed out of her comfort zone is most exciting to Georgoulis.
“[I’m looking forward to] gaining more tools to use as a teacher,” Georgoulis said, “but also to rely on the Lord. I am going to be terrified half the time teaching high schoolers. It is going to be really challenging, and the Lord is going to push me. I am anticipating that.”
Georgoulis will be working under a teacher who has 30 years of experience, which will ease her transition into student teaching.
A significant shift from Georgoulis’ norm will be living with her host family on a sheep and cattle farm, a stark contrast to her hometown of Chicago.
Georgoulis is excited to try new foods, listen to New Zealand accents and spend some time at the beach. It will be spring and summer in New Zealand during her stay from January to March, and her host family is within 15 miles of the beach.
The most difficult thing about leaving, besides an 18-hour time difference from her family, friends and boyfriend, has been the preparation to save financially.
Georgoulis will get a few days to adjust to the time change before an orientation and then being in the classroom.
“[I’m ready] to actually be in a teaching setting and to learn to be an effective teacher,” Georgoulis said.
