There are still four spots open for Baylor’s teaching in Thailand program. Students accepted to the program will leave at the end of May to go to Bangkok to teach English to students ranging from first to sixth grade.
The program is open to seniors graduating in May. Participants will be teaching at the Chitralada Palace School from the end of May through mid-March and will get a three week break in the fall, which many teachers use to travel to other countries in Asia.
Airfare, housing, health insurance and transportation to and from the school will be provided in the program. The Baylor teachers will also receive a monthly salary.
Professor Kay Mueller, who started the program over 25 years ago, welcomes students from all majors and backgrounds to apply.
“This is a wonderful opportunity,” Mueller said. “Thailand loves Baylor, and I know Baylor students will love Thailand.”
Students who apply do not need to be able to speak Thai they only need to love conversational English, Muller said.
More specifically, the program is seeking students who love children, are patient, appreciate other cultures, love rice, warm weather and have big smiles, Muller said.
“Going to teach in Thailand provided me with life experience outside of my comfort zone I know I would have never gotten elsewhere,” said 2011 Baylor graduate Jessica Krom.
Krom had never left the country before May 2011 when she went to Thailand.
“It was so empowering to just get up and go somewhere I had never been and do something I had never done,” Krom said. “It pushed me to accomplish goals I didn’t even know I had. I feel fearless now.”
Krom is currently a Senior Admissions Counselor here on campus and said she uses the skills she learned in Thailand everyday in her personal and professional life.
Joshua Blake went to Thailand to teach after he graduated from Baylor in 2009. Blake graduated with a degree in Psychology and never imagined he’d end up halfway across the world teaching English to third and fourth grade children in Bangkok.
“It was so far outside of my comfort zone, and I think that’s what was so appealing about the program,” Blake said. “It was one of the greatest years of my life, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity Baylor gave me.”
It took Blake some time to get used to the hot weather, but it didn’t take him long to fall in love with the rich culture Thailand had to offer.
“Thailand has so much to offer, and it is all amazing,” Blake said. “I love the landscape, the food, the people. There is no where like it in the world.”
Everyone accepted to the program will receive training at Baylor before they leave, and they will be trained by the school when they arrive.
Students who wish to apply should email Professor Kay Mueller at Kathryn_Mueller@baylor.edu as soon as possible to set up an interview.
