Alessandra’s Spanish skills have been essential for reaching out to Latino students and their families (mostly from Ecuador and El Salvador) who are in need of extra support to transition to a new culture and a new school environment. Her cultural competency and anti-racism lens has given her the opportunity to participate in and co-facilitate meetings and professional development events organized by the Amherst school district addressing issues such as peer mediation, grief, hidden biases, white supremacy, anti-racism education and restorative justice.

After leaving CIE, Kunduz returned to her home in the Kyrgyz Republic where she chaired the English Department and taught in the School of International Relations at Osh State University.  She also participated in a project of the US Department of State offering workshops on credit-based higher education in the Kyrgyz Republic covering all the state universities in the country.  During that time, Kunduz and a US Peace Corps volunteer, Bethany Burns, were awarded a Peace Corps grant and created an American room with many cultural and language media resources at Osh State University.

For about one year after leaving CIE, getting a job in the field of International development, both here in the US and abroad, was difficult for me. I attended several interviews without success. I eventually entered into Mental Health profession, holding positions like Mental Health Counselor, Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional, and other related titles. I was also an Adjunct Professor for two years, teaching Introduction to Sociology, and Social Problems in a Community College in New Jersey.

Since graduation 2002, as an instructor/adjunct faculty member I have developed and taught a number of courses in global and multicultural education for preservice and graduate teacher program at UMass Amherst, Salem State University, Northern Essex Community College and the Northeast Consortium For Global Education. I also worked as a substitute teacher for 5 years at all grade levels and special education in 5 districts in Boston’s North Shore area.

October 2020 finds me living in a small town in Tasmania, working with local government in the area of land management. I live off-grid where I enjoy watching the sun rise over the ocean each morning and receive regular visits from wallabies, pademelons (right), possums, echidnas and a wide array of birds.

Since graduating in 2002, my professional time has included a balance of teaching in higher education, non-profit management, educational program development, and volunteer service promoting environmental sustainability and a green and prosperous economy.

After completing his Master’s degree at CIE, Dezie returned to his job with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology where he started work in 1991.  He had worked variously as a teacher, Methods Advisor and Tikwere Outreach Coordinator for the Malawi College of Distance Education.  In 2013 he retired from the Civil Service after 22 years of service.

Fan Yihong was a professor of Higher Education at the Institute of Education Research, Xiamen University, P.R. CHINA from 2004-2015, then an advisory professor at the Center for Faculty Development, Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) from 2015-2017, and finally is now in the Dean’s Office at SWJTU, 2018-2019.

After graduating from CIE in 2004 I returned to my job at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) as a District Education Manager coordinating primary school education activities.

The opportunity to grow up with multiple educational and work experiences in a global context has made me the kind of educator I am today: one focused on using the extensive opportunities I have had to foster positive change to improve lives through education. Studying at the Center for International Education at UMass nurtured my practical approach to education and my role as a global citizen.

Since my graduation, I have concurrently worked as educator on two fronts that are dear to my personal and professional goals.