Ahoy! Hello! My name is Kaitlin. I am 22 years old and I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I graduated from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee last spring with a Bachelor's in English education, a minor in theatre, and a certification in teaching English as a foreign language. While in college, I was a part of Panther Catholic and ran Panther Improv Group. I also worked as a swim instructor, educational assistant for Institute of World Affairs, and as an undergraduate researcher. Not wanting to start a big full-time job right away, two months after graduation, I packed up my suitcases and moved 4,781 miles from home to Košice, Slovakia.
So, why would I move so far away to a country that many people do not know about?
Great question. I am here with the Fulbright U.S. Student Program teaching English at a bilingual secondary (middle and high) school for the year. I chose Slovakia for two reasons. The first is because my family hosted 3 foreign exchange students when I was in high school, and two of them are from here. The second is because my ancestry is half Slovak. I have heard so much about the country growing up and from the exchange students that I wanted to spend a year experiencing it for myself. I started studying more, got certified to teach English as a foreign language, and applied for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.
