The Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC), hosted a meeting over Zoom on March 22nd, where panelists shared their experiences and answered questions regarding their careers teaching English. 
The panelists consisted of alumni and instructors. Each shared their education path and career choices that led them to their current position.
The main subject discussed was the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) concentration. The courses in this program deal with language breakdown as well as applying strategies to teach it to non-native English speakers.
This concentration is beneficial for students seeking careers teaching English since it provides preparation for attaining teaching credentials and developing skills for teaching English as a second language. 
Emily Villanueva (Freshman, English) is one of many who are taking advantage of the TESOL program. She also got to monitor the meeting and provide the questions to the panelists.
“The purpose for the panel was getting more students introduced to what TESOL is and to show some experiences for those who have either never heard of it, so they now know what it is,” explained Villanueva. “Now that they’ve heard more of it either they can decide if that’s what they really want to do or it’s not for them, it’s just mainly giving them the information.” 
Dr. Mirta Maldonado, the TESOL Program Coordinator, finds that one of the most rewarding parts of her career is seeing students use the skills they learned in TESOL to teach abroad and experience the world.
“Don’t be overwhelmed by the fact that you might not be bilingual or multilingual yourself. We do like to perpetuate certain ideologies, like well, if you want to teach a language you have to be bilingual or multilingual, that’s not necessarily true,” Maldonado said.
Emily Ramos, the associate director of the CPDC, encourages students to really make use of their student status, “I highly stress taking advantage of opportunities like a concentration or a minor because your time as student really is your time to explore and build experiences and build skills.”
The CPDC offers a range of resources to help students with career exploration and development. Some of these include employment opportunities, career coaching, graduate program information, workshops, etc..
For more upcoming workshops or events check out the CPDC event/program calendar.