Some wise decisions have propelled Search candidate Lorena Diaz Trujillo’s international teaching career. For her student teaching, she chose an International Baccalaureate (IB) School. After her initial years in the classroom, she opted to join the “Participate Learning” program. Her third excellent decision: joining Search Associates! With the personal goal of landing a job in Australia in 2024, she began her appointment in an Australian IB school in Singapore and is over the moon.
Born and raised between two cities in Colombia, Lorena was encouraged to pursue teaching by the line of educators on her mother’s side. She followed their lead, but Lorena’s passion for teaching didn’t spark until she visited a school using the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme in Bogota, during her teacher training. Smitten by “the beauty of the IB,” Lorena took her first position there teaching the Primary Years Programme (PYP) in the pre-school division. She stayed for five wonderful years. When the time came to spread her wings, she discovered the perfect path.
Lorena registered with Participate Learning, an organization collaborating with teachers from around the world to provide them with professional and personal growth opportunities in the United States. In the program, Lorena joined the ranks of Ambassador Teachers, living, working, and making a profound impact in schools and communities across Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, while also helping to increase mutual understanding between the United States and other countries around the world. n North Carolina, she was placed at Weddington Hills Elementary (Union County Public Schools), where she had a “great experience” teaching IB PYP at the kindergarten level and helping to launch the school's Participate Learning Spanish Dual Language Program.
As the end of Lorena’s five mandatory years and graduation from the Participate Learning Program drew near, the organization offered an information session, run by Search Associate (SEARCH) Brian Lettinga. Brian, who has been collaborating with Participate Learning for about five years, hosts two webinars annually, introducing Participate Learning graduates to the benefits of working with SEARCH to advance their overseas teaching careers. Lorena jumped at the chance. After attending the information session, she “went everywhere on the SEARCH website to learn and gain confidence about the process” of applying for overseas teaching positions.
Lorena contacted Brian late in the summer of 2023, after time off traveling throughout the U.S. and visiting home. Refreshed and excited, she drafted her profile and uploaded her documentation on the SEARCH platform. Lorena recalls,
Brian sent an email: “Let’s talk; we’ll review your profile and try to match you to schools.” Over a video call, he explained how my file would be active for three years and gave me recommendations to improve my CV—adding missing aspects and simplifying it. Later, after I made the changes, and Brian agreed it was so much better, he said, “We are now ready to match IB schools to your profile.” That’s when I paid my fee.
When her file went live, Lorena received updates in her email every day at 4 p.m. Colombia time, with “details on vacancies for IB PYP, Early Years, Spanish teaching, and English teaching—from all over the world!”
On the days when she was filled with doubt, worrying that the platform would not help, Lorena would watch YouTube videos on interview tips and review Frequently Asked Questions on the SEARCH website. Articles, comments, and images about overseas teaching would boost her confidence.
The ball started rolling when Stamford American School, Singapore contacted Lorena for an interview. While the process with that school did not continue, it did become a steppingstone. Lorena had fallen in love with Singapore, having learned so much during her research. Plenty of coastline and proximity to family in Australia were two of its many draws. At that point, her overseas teaching job search became more sharply focused.
Lorena discovered a vacancy at Australian International School (AIS), Singapore for an IB PYP teacher, with pre-school students aged four. She studied the school’s website and loved the facilities and environment. The school’s overseas teaching benefits package was appealing: a housing allowance, health insurance, an annual plane ticket for home or somewhere else, and professional development for IB. Lorena applied, interviewed… and waited. Meanwhile, fewer emails with vacancies were arriving. Everything was moving very slowly until, two to three weeks later, the school made an offer. Then “everything moved so fast!”
When Lorena accepted the job at AIS in late December 2023, she was told she would be starting in one month, while the visa process usually takes two to four weeks! During the wait, Lorena took a family trip for her father’s retirement, packed with “her life into suitcases because of the big question mark.”
Lorena arrived in Singapore on Friday January 12th, having missed the New Staff Induction Day by a week. She attended school meetings the following Wednesday and three days later, she and her two assistants welcomed 21 students. In a short span of time, she absorbed all the school systems, all the while counseling herself during moments of questioning What am I doing here? In midst of the learning curve and culture shock, Lorena felt a core of gratitude and stability:
All my schools have used the IB, so the curriculum is similar, so based on curriculum, it’s all familiar to me. [I love getting] immersed in another culture, another country, learning and meeting new people. In Singapore, people are from all over the world.
These days, Lorena is “finding the light, finding the balance.” She loves the fact that AIS schedules a two-week break every 10 weeks. Singapore is the ideal location for traveling around Asia. “It’s easy to fly everywhere.” During her first break, Lorena stayed to explore Singapore. For her second, she traveled to Lombok and Bali in Indonesia. Next stop: Vietnam!
From Colombia to the United States to Singapore—and all her travels beyond—teacher and global citizen Lorena Diaz Trujillo has advice for those wishing to pursue international teaching:
Embrace it; do it, and act…The help is there through SEARCH; my Associate Brian helped me with all my questions…I was afraid, but it was a good fear. You will feel so good about the decision, about your personal and professional position. I have grown so much.
