Teachers College,
Columbia University
After my time in the Peace Corps, I wanted to continue exploring the dynamic relationship that education plays in the field of development and I soon found myself at Teachers College, Columbia University where I studied International Educational Development. During this time I continued to expand my educational teaching methodologies in an early childhood environment, in addition to working at the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, a humanitarian non-profit focused on protecting the right to education for all children.
At Teachers College I was exposed to various theories, ways of thinking and was completely immersed into a community of learners that continuously pushed me to question my assumptions about myself and the world around me. During my first three semesters I focused a majority of my course work and research on teacher development in South Sudan.
I was geared up to continue research on teachers in South Sudan for my Master’s Thesis, until November 2013 when Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines and devastated many communities that continue to be close to my heart. I shifted my thesis research to an area that I felt more passionate about and completed my research titled, A Case Study of the Education Response to Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines.