Explore Careers in Africa

“If you really want to reach your full potential and do more than you think you can, then you have to hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself,” said Okendo Lewis-Gayle at OCS’s popular “Exploring Careers in Africa” event this past Wednesday. With panelists from all backgrounds, the discussion offered advice on particular aspects of working both in social enterprise and in Africa.

Go with the flow

Richard Rowe, who has always been concerned with establishing a pathway to make the world more viable for marginalized children, currently serves as the CEO of the Open Learning Exchange, which is an organization committed to universal access to education. Having spent a lot of time in the social enterprise sphere, he admitted that his trajectory has come with a lot of surprises. “My career path has been a journey of confronting barriers and seeing doors open that I didn’t expect. It’s a constant journey of learning and sometimes regretting—or sometimes being ecstatic—over choices I’ve made along the way.”

Be irrational

What makes you excited to wake up every morning to work on your social enterprise? For Richard, it’s about being “irrational.” “You can’t do anything we are doing by being a totally rational person. We’re talking about systemic change, not putting a band-aid on the problem,” Richard Rowe said. “It’s something that is long and hard and painful, not only for you but for the people whose lives you’re trying to change. You have to be empathetic about the fact that even the thing that is going to improve their life is going to be a hard transition for them. It is something that gives me joy because I know that I’m doing the best that I can.”

Be brave

When you’re getting started in social enterprise, don’t underestimate yourself. “Every contribution matters – you’re not too young or too inexperienced. Whatever you can bring to the table will bring a lot. Curiosity means a lot. Just do something,” said Aminata Kane, who works to give local affordable and fashionable clothing for Senegalese professional.

 Be bold

“If you want to be an entrepreneur, you can’t be afraid to ruffle some feathers,” urged Kate Clopeck, the Executive Director for Community Water Solutions. “If you are saying there’s a need that’s not being met, you’re basically telling everyone who works in that industry that their work isn’t successful. It’s hard to say that without burning some bridges, but it’s feasible and something that needs to be done to make the industry better.”

Don’t underestimate Africa

Most of all, don’t underestimate Africa. “For a long time, people were calling Africa “the hopeless continent,” and they are now just thinking of Africa as “Africa rising.” Africa is changing very rapidly—development used to take a very long time but it doesn’t anymore,” Okendo said. “You’ve got to be cognizant of the times that we live in – you have to be willing to take risks. You’ve got to find the passion you’ve got to find the thing you’re willing to stay up at night and work on.”


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Julia Eger, ’14

Last night, we celebrated international travel, study, work, service, and research at the 9th Annual International Photo Contest. This year, over 450 photos were submitted. The photos were judged across four categories by Michelle Lamuniere, the Fogg Museum’s Assistant Curator of Photography. In addition, fourteen international centers and offices, including OCS, awarded special prizes. View the complete gallery of winners here. Featured above: Emily Bigelow’s By the Roadside, Rukungiri, Uganda, awarded the Special Prize, Office of Career Services; Special Prize, Committee on African Studies; and Honorable Mention, Let’s Go.
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Last night, we celebrated international travel, study, work, service, and research at the 9th Annual International Photo Contest.

This year, over 450 photos were submitted. The photos were judged across four categories by Michelle Lamuniere, the Fogg Museum’s Assistant Curator of Photography. In addition, fourteen international centers and offices, including OCS, awarded special prizes. View the complete gallery of winners here.

Featured above: Emily Bigelow’s By the Roadside, Rukungiri, Uganda, awarded the Special Prize, Office of Career Services; Special Prize, Committee on African Studies; and Honorable Mention, Let’s Go.

How to Find Teaching Jobs Abroad: Summer and Full-Time

Are you interested in teaching as well as a genuine international experience? Working in education overseas could be the career choice for you.

For Jason Dillon, a current student at the Harvard Kennedy School, teaching abroad allowed him financial and professional opportunities that would have been much more difficult to achieve in the United States. After working as a special education teacher in California, his journey started when he found a book in the library called How to Travel for Free. His experience in independent international schools spans from Venezuela to Beijing, and granted him opportunities to be a leader in the expatriate community in which he worked – even serving as the international school principal in Venezuela after only a short time working at the school.

“The best decision I ever made was to go overseas,” Jason said. “International schools are really good at providing you with a safe environment, and they work hard to orient you in a foreign country. As a teacher you get to explore but you don’t feel like a tourist, and there’s a core group of expatriates there with you doing the same thing.” While a lot of schools are great for professional development, they also carry financial perks. “As far as salary benefits, this is the best deal you’re going to get as a teacher,” he said. “You don’t pay United States’ taxes, and your housing is provided in most cases.”

Before trying to find a job at an international school, Jason mentioned the importance of having a teacher certification, and two years of teaching experience in the United States. “Schools don’t prioritize applicants who haven’t taught before, because having teachers in their first year of teaching as well as their first year in a foreign country is tough.”

Jamie Bruce, the current director of education for WorldTeach, told a different story of how she ended up abroad. She decided to go into education overseas because she wanted to “get dirty with the world’s problems.” After finding an ESL (English as a Second Language) program in Egypt as an alternative to the PeaceCorps, she discovered that her “bossy nature” was instinctive in the classroom. In her position at a language school in Cairo, she was paid a comfortable salary that enabled her to travel as much as she wanted. Although she had not completed the recommended two years of teaching experience in the United States, she was able to work overseas because the jobs happened to be completely in flux. “A last minute job opened and I sort of slipped through the cracks,” she said. Later, she received a job in Djibouti through an NGO.

While even a two-year contract abroad can seem like a long time, Jamie stressed the importance of its duration. “You don’t realize how much culture affects you until you’re separated from it,” she said. “Signing a two-year contract sounds huge, but it takes a while to carve out a life. It takes a little while to acclimate yourself.”


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Julia Eger, ’14