What position do you hold at ABCi? What has been your career path so far?
Frank: I am the manager of ABCi. Along with Ben Stone, I founded the organization in the fall of 2011. Since then, ABCi has grown exponentially and along with it, my responsibilities. Everything from IT to human resources falls under my area of responsibility.
Did YOU study abroad? If so, where did you go and what inspired you to go?!
Frank: I have done both in the past and am currently mostly volunteering in the office. I volunteer at ABCi to help manage the organization and in the past I have also worked in the field as a teacher, although the administrative side of things has grown so quickly in the past couple years, I am now working in the office almost full-time. I got involved in this sort of thing because the other organizations teaching English in Austrian schools were 1) primarily driven by a profit motive 2) not trained as teaches themselves and 3) were doing a pretty bad job.
What does the future hold for ABCi - any new programs to share?
Frank: In 2012 we gave free lessons to almost 7,000 Austrian students. This year were planned to give about 20,000 students free lessons, but it looks like the final number will be closer to 40,000. We will work with approximately 80,000 school children in 2014 giving free English lessons. Our five-year plan is focused on bringing free English project lessons to every child in Austria.
What about the future of the industry? How do you think volunteer abroad will change over the next 10 years?
Frank: I don't think the English project work will change much in Austria over the next 10 years, other than that the quality of this work will improve with increased professionalism and training. Austria has an absolutely fascinating school system with almost 30 different types of state schools. Young teachers from English-speaking are interested in getting experience in one of the most diverse school systems in one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. I don't think that is going to change much.