RLL Degree Takes Grad Around the World

Lisa Brown knew the Reading, Literacy & Learning (RLL) graduate program was the right place for her to earn her post-masters endorsement, but what she didn’t know was how well it would prepare her to use her classroom skills around the globe.

“I chose Longwood because of the cohort plan in place at the time,” said Brown, a 2014 RLL graduate who is now a second-grade elementary teacher at Hanover County Public Schools. “I would be in class one Saturday a month per class, and the rest was online. That fit great with my schedule of work and family.”

Brown said obtaining her endorsement in RLL rounded out her skills as a teaching professional and enabled her to achieve her career goals. In addition to leading to her job as a reading specialist, it also sparked in her a passion for literacy and the confidence to enter any classroom ready to make a difference. 

However, there was one facet of the job that Brown could never have anticipated: selling almost everything she and her husband owned and moving to the remote, mountainous country of Kazakhstan to teach English to students working in the medical field. That move would be the start of a life-changing journey for Brown and her husband, but one that she was prepared for, at least professionally, thanks to the education she received in the RLL program.

Brown and her husband were not new to the country, having gone through the process of adopting their son from Kazakhstan in 2000. Her husband had continued to make bi-yearly trips as part of humanitarian work in the area. In 2013, Brown decided to join him for one of those trips. 

“Over the next couple of years, we began planning a move to live and work in Kazakhstan. Everything came together and we sold our home, downsized to a townhome, gave almost everything away, and moved overseas,” she said. “After seven weeks of intense training, we were in the country starting humanitarian work and teaching English.”

Brown worked with a team that was already in place, composed primarily of medical students. During her year in Kazakhstan, she was also able to partner with local schools to provide postgraduate instruction to teachers on topics straight from her RLL degree, including sessions on balanced literacy and its components, and writing in the elementary classroom.

Reflecting on her time in Kazakhstan, she notes there were highs and lows. 

“Most of our time was spent learning the local language, doing humanitarian work, and teaching English,” she said. “We also spent a lot of time building relationships with the locals. We loved it there and really miss it. However, being away from our children and family was very hard. It was probably the hardest thing we have ever done.”

Now back stateside at her second-grade teaching position in Hanover County, Brown said the challenges from Kazakhstan have given her invaluable insight for her students -- insight she wouldn’t trade for the world.

“My year in Kazakhstan taught me how to empathize with struggling students so much more,” she said. “Trying to learn the Kazak language was very challenging and did not come easy. I have a better idea of what struggling readers must feel and deal with on a daily basis.”

For those teaching students and current teachers considering an RLL degree or a chance to teach overseas, Brown has one simple piece of advice: Go for it.

“It enriches your life and changes you for the better,” she said.