Suzanne Furstner Foundation Scholarship 2009: Shortlist Announced
Monday, 23rd November 2009
Cactus is thrilled to announce the shortlisted entries for the 2009 Suzanne Furstner Foundation Scholarship.
The entries were assessed by a panel of three judges against the following criteria: content and structure, originality, language and accuracy, relevance to the scholarship theme and overall impression. All of those shortlisted have won a Cactus Online TEFL Course.
You can read an anonymous entry in full below. To read the winning and other shortlisted entries please click here.
Six weeks in Italy
They say that the best things in life are free, and ambitious graduate Hayley Pearce is hoping to uncover the truth in this old saying by winning the Suzanne Furstner 2009 Scholarship. It will allow her to begin the career of her dreams and the most exciting adventure imaginable.
The scholarship, if awarded to her, will give her the opportunity to complete a four week TEFL course and a two week Italian language course. And where better to do this than Italy itself? It-magazine goes to catch up with the aspirational young would-be teacher in Vespa, a bar located in South Manchester which would scarcely raise an eyebrow if it was plucked out of the ground, transported over Europe and placed somewhere in the middle of Naples.
When we find Hayley, she is sipping an espresso and watching the world go by, seemingly deep in thought. No doubt day dreaming that she is sitting somewhere in Italy drinking espresso with fellow TEFL course students and about to go to a lesson…
As soon as she sees us she greets us with an enthusiastic ‘ciao!’, giving us a friendly smile and standing up to shake our hand and kiss us on each cheek. That’s the Italian way. Clearly she is adopting little snippets of the culture already and she doesn’t even live there. Yet.
But she has set her sights and pinned her hopes on her aspirations to move there. She knows it won’t be all fun and games but that it will be an amazing experience all the same.
‘Often the things you learn the most from aren’t enjoyable from start to finish. I know there’ll be some stressful times but I’ve got the gumption to see it through.’
The TEFL course makes for an intense and challenging four weeks but she knows she’s got what it takes to soar to success. ‘I won’t stop until I achieve what I want’, she tells us, looking us in the eye so we can sense her strikingly determined and clear-headed attitude. ‘I know I need to remain focussed and if it ever emotionally or physically tires me out I’ll just keep thinking about why I want to do it.’
So why does she want to do it?
‘Teaching’s my chosen career path; it’s my ideal job. I am a great communicator and a confident and enthusiastic person. I love helping people. Using my skills and qualities in order to do so gives me great pleasure. To be able to do this as a job would be absolutely phenomenal. Having completed a degree in English Language, I have an excellent command of English grammar and written and verbal communication and I would like to use my skills and knowledge in this area to teach others. Living and teaching abroad appeals to me because the idea of taking on the challenge of teaching English to non-native speakers is extremely exciting and I know it will be highly rewarding. It will be an invaluable experience, both personally and professionally. Also I’m young and adventurous and have no intentions of settling down just yet!
And what’s her big plan?
‘After I have finished my course, I would like to stay in Italy to teach for a while. Then in the long-term I can see myself living in Spain or Germany, and I would also love to teach in South America or South East Asia. That’s the beauty of TEFL courses like CELTA and CertTESOL. They are recognised internationally. Once you’ve passed, you can place yourself anywhere in the world and apply your enthusiasm and skills to teaching different people in different countries. When I am travelling I’m at my most free and able to think the most positively. I’m happy, productive and full of life. Not that I’m not all those things at home of course, but I thrive in unfamiliar environments. I want to stand on my own two feet in a new country.’
We know she is more than capable of standing on her own two feet. This young woman, despite having her sights set so high, has them firmly placed on the ground. She explains how she is fully aware of how hard she has to work to get there, and how she intends to apply all of her strength, ambition and drive both during the course, and beyond it.
We asked her why the course would be beneficial to her.
‘Are you joking? It would be so much more than beneficial. The prospect of being able to combine living in Italy for six weeks with the opportunity to develop teaching skills is so exciting. It would be an absolute dream. The course would mark the beginning of what will hopefully become a very long and fruitful career in teaching. With the knowledge of the Italian language under my belt coupled with the skills and qualities gained and enhanced during the TEFL course, I will be well equipped to begin teaching English in Italy. This experience would then pave the way for me to teach English in other countries, applying what I have learnt to classrooms in other parts of the world. Later in life, if and when I want to return to England, I would like to continue to work in TEFL, perhaps a more ‘behind the scenes’ job, but not before I have lived and worked in every continent. I have very big ambitions.’
You don’t say! We then started talking about Italy and why she was so excited to be beginning her TEFL journey there.
‘Italy has so much to offer. It is historically fascinating and is such an important and influential country, especially in the domains of fashion, fine art and food. I am also eager to improve my Italian, and Italy would obviously be the most perfect setting for Italian language lessons. TEFL is currently on the rise in Italy and many schools are looking to recruit even fairly inexperienced teachers. Therefore, I feel it would be an ideal place to be when I am looking for my first job. The scholarship would open up such an amazing opportunity for so many reasons.
‘Immersing myself in other cultures has always been a wonderful and enlightening experience for me, and I see this as a chance to both gain new skills and experience in TEFL and to absorb as much about the Italian way of life, its culture and its people as is humanly possible!’
When in Rome…
Tags: scholarship, sff2009, suzanne furstner scholarship, italy, tefl, english
Posted by Michelle Curtis 2009-11 under Cactus TEFL, Cactus News,
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Posted by david on 11/25 at 07:22 AM
Italy is a very nice city and doing a TEFL course there is a great dream come true for everyone. I am really proud of this young woman taking all the challenges with so much of enthusiasm and self-confidence. I wish I would be there too.
My hearty wishes to her. Let her dream come true and she enjoys Italy and its rich culture and heritage too.
Nice sharing and keep posting.