My name is Michael and I'm originally from Iowa. I am down in South Florida participating in a program called AmeriCorps (think Peace Corps but within the United States). I am currently serving with an organization called The Lord's Place in West Palm Beach which works to end the vicious cycle of homelessness in Palm Beach County. I am a Job Ready instructor and help clients in our program create a resume, references, and gain confidence with their interviewing skills.
Besides teaching and working in the education field, another one of my big passions is traveling. I have been blessed with the opportunity to partake in multiple opportunities that have taken me outside of the United States. During my time in high school, I spent 6 weeks in Costa Rica and 2 weeks in Guatemala at intensive language schools, working on my Spanish skills. I also studied abroad in northern Spain for a semester during my Junior year of college, taking various courses at the Universidad de Oviedo to help my Spanish abilities. I am still working on upping my ability to speak, read, and write in this beautiful language.
During my college years, I also participated in a program called Camp Adventure Child and Youth Services. This program provided college students from all over the country the opportunity to spend a summer on American military bases all over the world, working as camp counselors for the children of the military personnel. Through this experience, I was able to go to Japan, Germany twice, Italy, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. These experiences have given me the chance to explore new cultures, countries, and work with people of all different backgrounds.
Finally, last year, I taught English in Seoul, South Korea to Korean high school students at one of the most prestigious high schools in Seoul. I taught 15-20 classes a week with approximately 45 students in each class. This translated to working with around 700 students each week, helping them improve their level of conversational English. Through this experience, I worked with 7-8 native Korean teachers in planning lessons and carrying them out in the classroom. It was a year of growth change for the better to say the least.
I look forward to being able to bring these experiences and techniques that I've learned through teaching abroad, student teaching, and AmeriCorps to help out your student in any way possible!
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