Grace Schlichter has been part of IGlobal since her first year on campus. She got involved with the program to broaden her understanding of students' culture and backgrounds and prepare her to lead her future classroom. 

I’m not sure how we started talking about it, but when I heard the word “tiger,” I froze. I was talking with the middle school students I teach through the IGlobal Program about their town in Russia. One of them mentioned that wild tigers roam the streets at night. That is the moment I realized that even though we are thousands of miles apart and live totally different lives, here we are—connecting through learning. 

I first heard about IGlobal in one of my education classes during my freshman year. The person telling the class about it spoke about the opportunity to meet students from various countries, backgrounds, and cultures, all while getting valuable teaching experience. I immediately signed up. I plan on becoming an elementary school teacher and, hopefully, a principal one day. I knew that IGlobal would be a valuable resource for a future educator—and it has been just that. It has inspired me to create more culturally diverse lesson plans, broaden my horizons on teaching through technology, and work on collaborative teaching strategies.

To anyone interested in teaching with IGlobal, I encourage you to get involved. It features a paid internship, supportive administrators and coworkers, the opportunity to immerse yourself into a new culture, and valuable classroom experience educating students on various global goals. This semester, I am working on a new research opportunity with my students from Russia.

I am so grateful for this program and the opportunities it offers to gain teaching experience. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact with students across the globe and learn more about their backgrounds and cultures.

Grace Schlichter is a sophomore Elementary Education major from La Grange, Illinois. After graduating, she plans to become a first to third grade teacher. She also plans on pursuing a master’s degree in Educational Leadership to become a principal.