My Flyer Story: Language and love

My last semester at the University of Dayton wasn’t really at UD. I was finishing up my degree and taking a few classes abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador. While I was there, I was offered an opportunity to volunteer at an after-school program. That opportunity turned out to be teaching English to local students — and the start of a lifelong calling.

The thing is, I went to UD to study Spanish, not education, and suddenly I found myself in a classroom with anywhere from one to 25 students and nothing but a printer and a whiteboard.

Trial by fire is an understatement.

I made it up as I went, and over time, I settled into a rhythm. The work turned out to be more meaningful and fulfilling than I ever expected; the community even more so. When my semester ended, I joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps to follow a similar path — this time in Micronesia.

I was stationed there for what was supposed to be two years, teaching English at a primary school with limited resources and a desperate need for teachers. I loved it. I experienced so much kindness and warmth from my students and their families. They welcomed me into their community and shared their culture with me.

But just a few months in, the COVID-19 pandemic began, and I was sent home. Leaving so suddenly was heartbreaking. I didn’t just leave a job; I left people and a community that was changing my life.

Stateside, I stayed in contact with the school. After a while, the organization secured a few computers, and I spent the next few years teaching English to their eighth graders virtually while working other online jobs — teaching reading and GED courses and leading Spanish-speaking students in Nashville through STEM projects and crafts over Zoom.

So often, I felt like I learned more from my students than they did from me. The beauty of teaching is that so much of it is just listening and being present. Through that, you develop powerful, genuine relationships — connections that continue to fill me with life.

The beauty of teaching is that so much of it is just listening and being present. Through that, you develop powerful, genuine relationships — connections that continue to fill me with life.

In 2022, I found my way back to Ecuador. This time, I worked in Guayaquil as a fellow with Rostro de Cristo, an organization working to reestablish itself in the area. I guided volunteers and assisted wherever needed at their school, after-school program and women's shelter. My role was to build connections with the local community and help rebuild their programs.

A few months in, unrest and violence broke out in Guayaquil, and after several serious incidents, the program pulled its volunteers for safety. I was being sent home again.

I didn’t want to leave on someone else's terms for the second time — so I decided to stay.

The people I was working with, the communities I had grown to know and love, did not have the privilege of getting on a plane and leaving the violence behind. They lived it every day. I felt called to somehow share in that reality and stand with them in whatever small ways I could.

Going home just didn’t feel right.

So I stayed a while longer, teaching English at the local school and to neighbors who wanted to learn. The violence continued, and so did daily life. In 2023, when it was time for me to leave, I returned to virtual teaching.

The first year, I taught English to immigrants in Ohio; the next, to a group based in Costa Rica. I’ve loved my students in every capacity and location, and this was no different. Each day, I watched them grow in their language skills and confidence, and in return, they shared stories of their lives, culture and the natural beauty of their home.

I could only listen to stories for so long before I had to see it for myself. At the end of 2025, I traveled to Costa Rica and met the students I’d been teaching virtually — an experience I will remember and treasure forever.

Looking back, all lines lead back to UD. I didn’t just receive an education in language, but in love. The people I met, the memories I have and the values instilled in me as a daughter of Christ — they’ve made me who I am and led me to serve my students in the same way.

Looking back, all lines lead back to UD. I didn’t just receive an education in language, but in love. The people I met, the memories I have and the values instilled in me as a daughter of Christ — they’ve made me who I am and led me to serve my students in the same way.

We all have the capacity to do what I’ve done — to go out into the world and impact others with who we are and the gifts we’ve been given. For me, that’s meant connecting with students and teaching English throughout the world.

The question is: What does it look like for you?

And where will it take you?

Photograph courtesy Hannah Klein.

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 31. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE