VolunQuest

Getting to live and work on the beautiful island with the cutest kids was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. Being able to make and create lessons and materials following a national set of guidelines from a curriculum was an invaluable lesson on teamwork, creativity, and collaboration. Teaching twelve classes twice a week was a lot, and definitely an important exercise in independent facilitation of teaching; however, it was really nice to only teach for half days. The rest of our days we spent at the beach, exploring the island, or working on materials for the next days/weeks. Going into the program I was worried about having to come up with lesson ideas out of nowhere without an idea of where to start, but the program and the national curriculum provide the guidelines and support to do so while giving leeway for creativity and innovation. The training for the program is hands-on, not theory based. This helped me ensure that I could actually go in and teach the classrooms rather than just knowing the theories on how to teach. The set-up of the program also helped me learn from my own, but also my other intern-colleagues successes and mistakes.

I completely regretted not having done a study abroad program while I was in college, so when I received an email from an old professor about VolunQuest I impulsively applied right away. I didn't do much research, mostly because I was in the middle of finals in my first year of grad school...I'm so happy about both those decisions. While there were some logistical downsides in terms of accommodation (bunk beds at 25 years old wasn't ideal) and some communication problems, my entire teaching/living experience on Isla far outweighed the few issues I encountered.

I was a scholarship recipient for the gap year program. I had no teaching experience prior to arriving on the island and I was petrified. However, all my students helped me feel so welcome and my first day jitters quickly disappeared. Working with the PNIEB curriculum was different and interesting, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to challenge myself. While sometimes having to work within the curriculum boundaries felt like our lessons were a little dry, the kids were always receptive and excited to learn. I remember plenty of times when my students would beg for english class on days they didn't have it. It was such a great feeling! I do wish the training part of the program was a little longer and maybe more in depth. However, I came in halfway through the semester and there was a bit of a time crunch so I understand.

Besides the great teaching experience I had, I also made amazing connections with the people of the island. Everyone I met was nothing but friendly and generous. As my final project with my first graders during summer camp, I had them design two murals that we covered in bottle caps that they collected. I knew we wouldn't have enough so I went around town asking bartenders and restaurant owners if they could collect them for me and they were more than happy to help. The Mural Festival was also going on at the same time and a few of the artists were generous enough to work with my students. They taught them how to make their own stamps and how to spray paint their murals. They were so excited and happy to come to camp every day. It was so amazing!

All in all, Isla is an incredibly special place full of warm, kind hearted people. I wish my time there had been longer. It's such a beautiful island with tons of things to do on your downtime (like swimming with whale sharks). I've made some incredible friends through VolunQuest and I know I'll be back in the future.

I went to Isla as part of a class, having not traveled outside the US much before and it was an amazing experience. I got to teach English in a classroom as a head teacher while also having the vacation of a lifetime. The island is a great vacation location and so after teaching in the morning then lesson planning for a couple hours the rest of the day was up to me to do what I wanted. The beaches are amazing and so I would love to just go to the beach after class. Then there were tons of options for dinner and a great nightlife. For the actual teaching, the kids seem interested and I was teaching at a preschool and playing games with the kids while teaching really set me up for activities I will do in my future career. I would recommend this to anyone who loves teaching!

Throughout my time at Volunquest, I received the best experience of my life! I made great friends and contributed so much to the surrounding community. Before traveling to the beautiful island of Isla Mujeres, I had zero teaching experience. Throughout the program, I impacted the lives of over 800 students by teaching them everyday and am now certified to teach ESL anywhere in the world. One of the great things about the program is truly seeing the impact made every day in your students. The people of this very small island depend on the program for English in tourism, as tourism is the driving force of the economy on the island. Not only did I feel great about giving back to the community, but I got to experience so much of the Mexican culture and improve my Spanish. Additionally, the program allows for plenty of free time to explore the Yucatan as there are many three day weekends and holidays during the school year. Another thing unique to this program is that I got to teach multiple grades, teaching 1st-6th grade. This program is great because it is mutually beneficial for the students as well as the intern.

Working with VolunQuest has been an incredible, eye-opening experience which I believe I have gained so much from.

Living within the local community of Isla Mujeres, teaching English to the children in the public schools on the island, making new lifelong friends and enjoying the benefits of this beautiful island has been everything I could have hoped for and expected it to be.

VolunQuest benefits almost 2,000 children on Isla Mujeres by providing free English lessons. And the children really do appreciate your presence… the feeling when walking down the street, into your school, around a shop or anywhere else on the island and hearing the word ‘Teacher!’ whilst being greeted with a running hug from one of your students, really is one that fills you with a sense of pride.

When I was looking for an opportunity to work abroad and teach English, I loved the look of this one and am now so glad that I found it. I have not only adored working with the children and teaching them English, but I have also loved learning about myself, learning about different cultures, improving my Spanish and have completely fallen for this little island paradise.

One of the goals of the programme is “to provide an exemplary full-immersion experience abroad that mutually enriches the local community and the lives of our program participants.” And I believe that this goal is definitely met. The interns not only work together, but live together in a house provided by the government within the local community, with friendly neighbours and only a short, cheap taxi ride to anywhere you’ll need to go. I have learnt to live simply and with less than we do back at home. I feel like I have truly learnt so much, benefited from this wonderful experience and given so much back to the children and community, making a difference and would love to stay on for longer to see this programme evolve even more.