Lifelong Learning
Segment #12 from University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Transcript
Next up, we get to meet Mohamed who’s earning a masters in teaching English to speakers of other languages or TESOL. He’s gonna tell us about his path to UMBC and how he’s found a community that supports students at all stages of life. He’s so inspiring and I can’t wait for you to hear his story, take it away, Mohamed.
– Thanks, Alex, hey everyone. After years teaching English on my country, Egypt, I thought the right time had come to take my academic experience to the next level regardless my age. So I searched for programs in different universities in the States, but I found UMBC the most accommodating since I believe in education at all stages of life. The university staff helped me throughout my application process and it felt like I heard them saying, come and apply Mohamed, we want you in the family. Then I got admitted to the master’s program. The university provides program centered in helping returning and late finishers like myself complete the degrees. At UMBC you find professors who provide support and the friendly classroom environment. Even my colleagues never made me feel like an alien. They were eager to learn about my culture and let me mingle in theirs. This accommodating environment encouraged me to bring my family from Egypt and the UMBC community helped me and my family to settle and guided me to enroll my daughter in a public school. This academic and personal support made me feel home away from home. The Career Center offers career fairs where you can find employers that help you learn more about your employment chances after graduation. And when it comes to preparation for real world job and practical training, UMBC provides every possible means of support. It’s great to be part of such a wonderful community that values my experiences, throwing it back to you, Alex.
– What an incredible journey Mohamed. It’s so inspiring to hear about what you’ve experienced at UMBC and it sounds like you’ve got a really wonderful career ahead of you. Best of luck, Mohamed, that was absolutely excellent, cheers.