[#CambridgeMENA + my #CareerStory] Such fun to be on Day 2 of workshops in Oman yesterday, where we shared practical ideas for teachers to try out when using Cambridge University Press Education’s new #Resources in their #classrooms.
The teachers of #Oman are known for being some of the kindest, warmest and most loving in the entire #MENA region. 💛
They were just the same as when I first worked with them all the way back when I started my career in publishing with #OxfordUniversityPress almost a decade ago now.
I take #questions quite seriously. Especially in workshops and lessons. As a #teacher, questions are one of the biggest clues about what learners are finding curious or challenging. Questions hold answers.
This week, instead of questions about teaching, I had loads of questions about my role, which prompted me to recount the early days of my career pivot into publishing.
Since I had a lot of teachers come and ask questions about how I came to be doing the role I’m in now with #CambridgeUniversityPressandAssessment, I began to share the story with one of the lovely teachers the day before…
It started in one of the most prestigious universities in the whole world, one of a couple that I’d wanted to study in since I was a little girl: the university of Oxford (the other was Cambridge, of course.).
A dream realised, I was grateful to be studying there for the #MSc in #ComparativeandInternationalEducation at the time. I’d studied China, Chinese and language policy for about 4-5 years… and parallel to that, all along, I had always been teaching or tutoring all throughout my studies, my gap year, and all my summers.
By this point, I was not sure quite what I wanted to do after my Master’s. “What next?” was becoming a big question that I didn’t know how to answer.
I was probably sitting in #LMH’s library, where I used to study because I loved their building and little coves surrounded by books so much. On one such day, searching for roles in the career portal, a search for “education” as a key word or industry filter caught my attention:
“Oxford University Press: Market Development Editor - CAMENA”.
My interest was piqued:
Here was a role I didn’t know existed before, which was situated within education but also provided an opportunity to work with one of my favourite things in the world:
Books!
Well, aside from the fact that I had to look up the word “CAMENA” because I didn’t know what it meant, I was keen to apply.
Turns out, it was an acronym for Central Asia Middle East & North Africa.
All these places would be the destination of my career for the next decade.
And the MENA region specifically would become my home for more than just a year or two.
Seeing that advert was the start of a grand #adventure, one that ultimately led me to the photos you see in this post: sharing time and connecting with the loveliest teachers ever, in #Oman. 💛
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