| By Stacey Hartmann
Michelle “Shelly” Jackson is one of those people who feels most in her element when she’s completely out of her element.
It’s true whether she’s swabbing decks on a 50-foot sailing vessel in the Netherlands Antilles, corralling hens at an organic farm in New Zealand or building adobe huts in New Mexico.
As the 2008 winner of the Future International Educator/Alumni of the Year award – presented annually to one outstanding alumni of the AustraLearn / AsiaLearn / EuroLearn study abroad programs – Jackson exhibits the traits of someone fit for the field of international education.
She’s curious about people and places, loves to explore, reveres history and culture, is organized in her approach to studies, travel and work, and wants to share her knowledge with others.
“The goal of this award is to encourage and support the next generation of international educators,” says Cynthia Banks, executive director and founder of Westminster, Colo.-based AustraLearn / AsiaLearn / EuroLearn. “We feel Shelly epitomizes just what this award strives to promote.”
The 24-year-old Lake Worth, Fla., resident and graduate of Furman University will receive the award as AustraLearn’s guest at the NAFSA 2008 Annual Conference & Expo May 25-28 in Washington, D.C., a gathering of international education professionals from around the globe.
Paths to international education
“Knowing how successful international educators look, sound and act, Shelly is a prime example,” says Bill Lavery, former director of international education and professor emeritus in history at Furman University, where Jackson earned a degree in history.
“Shelly is positive,” he says. “She’s open. She’s organized. I would imagine Shelly’s never left her toothbrush behind in an international hotel.”
Lavery helped guide Jackson’s choice to study for a semester in 2005 at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand through AustraLearn, a program he praises for its high quality.
“Fly-by-night programs don’t turn me on,” he says. “AustraLearn is far from that.”
He is not surprised AustraLearn has chosen Jackson for its annual award.
“If we could plug wires into her, we’d have a renewable energy source,” he says.
As Jackson works toward a career in international education, she’ll find a growing field drawing from a wide range of backgrounds to include college and university faculty and admissions specialists, employees and overseas staff of program providers, global ambassadors, immigration specialists, researchers and related service providers.
“I definitely think careers in international education are on the rise,” says Kathy Ward, a study abroad coordinator at the University of Tampa who has participated in international education since 1965.
Such opportunities often become familiar to students only after they’ve studied overseas and been exposed to a variety of people who make the study abroad experiences happen, Ward says.
“I have a fair number of students who have graduated,” she says, “and they are still looking back at their study abroad experience wanting to do something about it.”
That’s why Ward is a fan of AustraLearn’s enCompass program, a series activities for AustraLearn alumni to reflect and share their overseas educational experiences with others and a requirement of those who apply for the alumni award.
The program entails a real commitment on the part of the student after they return from overseas studies, Ward says.
“It’s like a winnowing process,” she says. “It really sorts out the students who are showing this is something they’re really interested in.”
Curiosity, cultural interests and international experiences align
During her semester in New Zealand, Jackson was determined to live as a resident rather than just a visitor.
“In New Zealand, I really had the opportunity to immerse myself completely,” she says.
That included seeking out activities beyond classroom exercises and tourist excursions and really getting to know some local residents.
“You can learn a lot from anyone who comes across your path,” Jackson says. “It was the first time I actually lived in another country. The other times, I traveled.”
Driven by a deep interest in history and folklore, she sought out a job shadowing experience at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, a national museum in Wellington.
“The Maori culture in New Zealand is just breathtaking,” Jackson says. “It’s a very rich, textured and layered culture. They have so many stories and legends, wonderful art work, dances and food, and it’s so intertwined in Kiwi culture now, fortunately.”
After Jackson wrapped up her coursework, she traveled north to New Zealand’s Bay of Islands to work on an organic farm in exchange for room and board and to learn first hand about the environmental challenges facing New Zealand’s strong agricultural economy.
“I’d done my studies,” she said. “I’d done my homework. I’d done my adventure travels. So I wanted to reserve some time to really take what I learned from New Zealand and just to give back and honor the country.”
After meeting “farmer Marty,” she settled into her room, basically a shack next to where the pigs lived. On her first day, she was awakened in the middle of to help in a sort-of ambush of capturing hens while sleeping and moving them from one henhouse to another.
From that point on, the romantic live-off-the-land notions were put aside and she literally dug into her work, pulling vegetables from the ground for her meals.
“They are one of the most green, organically concerned environments in the world,” Jackson says. “I wanted to see that firsthand rather than just read about it in my tourist book.”
Adventurous spirit and supportive family
Jackson’s interest in history and folklore took root when she was a child and first heard stories of her own family’s long history in Florida, her father Randy’s exploration at 17 of civil war site during a motorcycle ride across the United States, and a general family philosophy learning whenever and wherever possible.
“We always wanted to learn about the history of where we were, whether it was Utah in the mining fields or colonial New England,” Jackson says.
She learned to appreciate native people and cultures as a young person working on summertime community service projects, one at the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming and another in New Mexico building adobe huts with the Pueblos.
Jackson’s parents always encouraged rather than resisted her adventurous plans.
These included spending three weeks at age 14 on a 50-foot sailing yacht in the Netherlands Antilles, where she swabbed decks, practiced man-over-board techniques and fished for her own food as part of a youth leadership program.
“Shelly was always was very, very excited and very passionate and very much wanting to explore the world and just be in and of it,” says her mom, Kitty Jackson.
“We just said, there are so many things for you to enjoy and explore,” she says, “and we want you to go for it.”
The Jackson family, which includes Shelly and two younger sisters, has always lived on the water in West Palm Beach, Fla., and done lots of boating, including in the Caribbean just a few hours away. For the most part, however, the family’s travels have stayed in the United States.
“We haven’t done any real world traveling,” Kitty Jackson says. “It’s been Shelly and my other daughter who’ve gone ahead and taken it a step farther.”
Eighteen countries and counting
When her time in New Zealand ended, Jackson returned to Furman University and in 2006 completed her bachelor’s degree in history.
She then taught English in rural schools in France and worked in Washington, D.C., for a national youth leadership conference before returning to her native Florida to explore options for master’s programs in international education.
During the NAFSA conference, Jackson will be recognized during the annual AustraLearn Affiliate Advisor Luncheon, shadow experienced AustraLearn staff, network with international education professionals, assist in AustraLearn’s exhibition booth and take on a potential project.
“I’d love to be involved in creating an organization that is involved in storytelling for children in developing countries,” Jackson says of her long-term goals. “I’m very interested in folklore and oral culture. I think storytelling is a cultural tradition that gets lost now.”
And while’s visited 18 countries so far, she’d like to add more to her list.
“Traveling to me, I don’t look at it as a holiday or a trip,” she says. “I look at it as a learning experience and a way to understand the world better. I don’t think that’s something you can get out of your system. It’s a part of me.”
Stacey Hartmann is former newspaper reporter and freelance journalist currently writing on special study abroad topics for AustraLearn / AsiaLearn / EuroLearn – Educational Programs of GlobaLinks.
Reach her at Stacey.hartmann@earthlink.net
|