SRU alum finds teaching career in Spain
Laura Jasinski came to Slippery Rock University to study elementary education and Spanish, but instead of teaching children a foreign language in the United States, she is teaching English to children in Spain.
Jasinski is one of more than 15 recent SRU alumni who have taught abroad in the last year and, like many, the opportunity was realized from experiences she had as a college student.
Before graduating from SRU in 2020 with degrees in early childhood education and Spanish, Jasinski studied abroad at the University of Alcala during the summer of 2018.
“As soon as I came home from studying abroad when I was at SRU, I was like, ‘I have to go back to Spain,’” Jasinski said. “I love the experience.”
SRU has partnerships with international schools in which students earn credits at the host institution for a semester or two that are applied to their SRU degree. Additionally, more than 20 education majors fulfilled their student-teaching requirement at public schools in Spain last year, where they also took an Introduction to the Spanish Education System course at the University of Alcala.
“SRU stands apart from other universities because we are able to offer these novel experiences and opportunities,” said Sara Tours, associate professor of elementary and early childhood education, who is the College of Education's international coordinator. “Our students are hungry to know more about education, not just the United States but within all cultural contexts.
“They learn that there’s not just one way to teach a child and that really helps them in the classroom when there are diverse students and they can try different approaches. Having that in their back pocket is so vital in today’s classrooms.”
After graduating from SRU, Jasinski returned to the University of Alcala to earn a master’s degree and worked at a public school in Alcala for a year. She is now a teacher at the American School of Madrid.
“I was not anticipating still being here,” said Jasinski, a native of Fairview who returns to Pennsylvania in the summer months but is a Spanish resident after she was hired last spring. “My plan was to do the master’s program for a year and be a language assistant at a bilingual school for another year and then be done.
“But toward the end of my second year, I didn’t want to leave, and I fell in love with the culture and my host family, and I became proficient in Spanish.”
She recalled applying for teaching jobs, which can be difficult to get, and felt fortunate when she received an offer.
Jasinski credits her experience at SRU and the education program’s focus on getting students early field experience.
“SRU prepares you very well for the real world,” Jasinski said. “I love the focus on projects and presentations, but especially going out into the schools. Now that I’ve become a teacher, I’ve learned what matters most is doing the work instead of having theory drilled into you.”
As a sophomore at SRU, she said she was out in schools doing observations.
“That was really beneficial for me,” she said.
In recent decades, SRU has placed student teachers in Mexico and Ireland, and, after international travel resumed following the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was restructured under Tours’ direction with a focus on Spain.
Justin Zackal is the associate director of university marketing and communication at Slippery Rock University.
