Career Services Spotlight Transcripts

RECORDING OF: YouTube Video Career Spotlight: Career Leap Into Teaching Abroad

TRANSCRIBED: March 20, 2015

FOR: Walden University

MERILEE S. JOHNSON, RMR, CRR, CBC, CCP PARADIGM REPORTING & CAPTIONING, INC. 612.339.0545 CAPTION@PARADIGMREPORTING.COM

(Dina):  Hello. I am Dina Bergren, senior career services advisor at Walden University. I met Wallace Norwood at the Ed.D. residency in Orlando. Wallace made an unexpected career transition from social work to education, and ended up teaching English in China. He shares his career story with us.

(Wallace): My name is Wallace Norwood. And I'm in the Ed.D. program. Currently I am living in China, city of Hangzhou, about 45 minutes west of Shanghai, and I teach business English. I teach English to companies that do business in the West. I have also taught university and high school English in China as well. I have a background in clinical social work and due to circumstances that were out of my control, to include the job market in America, to include, to an extent, career fatigue, I finished a ten-year track of social work and I was looking for something different. So I ended up in China. One of the best things that could have happened for me. The people in China, very receptive to foreigners, and my transition has been less than awkward. Less than awkward. Not perfect, of course, but less than awkward. I think my generation might be one of the first generations to not really be able to stay in their chosen field forever. I had no idea that when I was going to graduate school, that I would ever have to leave the field of social work. I felt, at the time, that that was a terminal degree and I was never see a classroom again. One thing I would like to share with students that are going -- coming back to school, and I guess we would be considered non-traditional students, maybe, don't be shy. You know, the technology, you know, that we are using to connect with our courses, with the online courses, you know, can -- can sometimes be a little intimidating. Little-by-little, the. The Chinese phrase would be "ma ma lai" (phonetic). Step-by-step. And as long as we take these little steps, you know, they can lead to great strides. Not being afraid to ask questions, not being afraid to make mistakes, and putting yourself out there would be what I advise anyone. There is life after a second job. There's life after divorce. You know, there's life after all of these life-altering events, you know. I mean, it's not over until we say it's over. When I'm explaining to my business students in China about the term of "outsourcing," and we're talking about the different companies that are no longer really -- their labor market is not really based in America, I explain that I simply did what companies are doing. I outsourced myself. For me, outsourcing makes me feel a greater sense of control. And it makes me feel more proactive in my -- in my job search. And in my outlook, in general, even. You know, I feel more optimistic because of the fact that I've taken this leap of faith. It's never too -- never too late to, to try something new.

[This text is being provided in a rough-draft format to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings]