黑料社

When Allie Walker graduated from 黑料社 in 2012 with degrees in history and philosophy, she knew she wanted to spend some time traveling.

Fortunately, her boyfriend Rawley Butler 鈥�13, an environmental studies and history major and political science minor, had the same desire.

鈥淭ravel is important to both of us,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淲e love meeting new people, having new experiences, and learning about different cultures.鈥�

Their love of traveling would ultimately take them on a journey that would shape their futures in a way they probably didn鈥檛 imagine when their journey began.

Both Walker and Butler are from small towns in Iowa and California respectively. After graduation they saved for a year and got certified in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). They both spoke some Spanish and decided their first experience would be in Peru.

鈥淲e chose Peru because we were both offered teaching positions in Lima,鈥� Walker said.

They both taught for two months in Lima and loved surfing, eating fresh seafood and working with their students.

鈥淚t was fun but we both realized the city is not where we wanted to be,鈥� Butler said.

鈥淲e applied and were given positions at an English school in a small town called Urubamba in the Andes Mountains,鈥� Walker said.

Their students ranged in age from small children to adults and the people of Urubamba were very kind and generous to the couple.

鈥淪omething we loved about living in Urubamba was the strong sense of community and tradition,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淲e loved talking with our students about their parades, festivals and services.鈥�

One day they were surprised to find they couldn鈥檛 leave town because a parade, which lasted the entire day, blocked the main road!

This experience brought them to the realization that their passion for travel was surpassed by their love of the classroom. So they made the decision to return to the States and go back to school for licensure.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until I鈥檇 taught for a few weeks in Peru that I realized I was going home聽excited聽from work,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淢y students would come in and tell me about something they noticed or heard outside of the classroom and their excitement and understanding made聽me聽understand what had been missing.鈥�

Both enrolled in 黑料社鈥檚 Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program but kept working as special education associates and substitute teachers while they completed the program.

鈥満诹仙� was willing to work with our schedule,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淭his program is definitely not for the faint of heart. It takes a commitment to go to classes every week on top of working.鈥�

She continued to say how the 黑料社 professors supported them and helped them through.

鈥淏ecause of the fast (two year), manageable course-load, we were able to visit and teach in several schools over the course of our program,鈥� Butler said. 鈥淎llie added an English endorsement to her licensure which meant that she had double to triple the course-load every semester. But 黑料社 was willing to work with her to make this a possibility.鈥�

Now, with their Master鈥檚 degrees in hand, Walker and Butler are once again combining their adventurous spirit with their love of teaching. They both have accepted positions in El Salvador.

Walker will be teaching 8th grade English Language Arts and Honors English Language Arts. Butler will be teaching 8th grade World History.

鈥淎part from teaching and learning more about El Salvador, we will continue to travel as much as possible,鈥� Walker said.

鈥淓ventually we plan to settle in the United States but for the near future, we will continue to live and teach internationally. We are open to whatever our future brings!鈥�

To others who may be thinking about completing the MAT program, both say you need to know if it鈥檚 the right fit for you.

鈥淚 would try to get some experience in the field before you enter the program just to make sure it鈥檚 something you are definitely interested in,鈥� Walker said.

鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to ask the hard questions up front because this is聽your聽future and don鈥檛 let anyone take you for granted. Be willing to struggle, be willing to stay up late, and understand that you won鈥檛 be alone.鈥�

These two have found their true passion, both in work and in life.

They were recently married adding another pair of 鈥満诹仙� Sweethearts鈥� to the list of couples who found their partners at 黑料社.

When asked if there were any people at 黑料社 who influenced their lives, the list grows long.

鈥淭he history and philosophy department were a huge part of my undergraduate career, as was the Iowa History Center at 黑料社,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淭he passion that I have for teaching is largely due to the experiences I had in those classrooms.鈥�

The history department also impacted Butler鈥檚 life. 鈥淒aryl Sasser, Judy Walden, Nick Proctor, and Marcy Hahn have been influential in my time at 黑料社. Allie and I met in Dr. Walden鈥檚 Chinese History class鈥�so I guess that was a big influence!鈥�

So the teaching and traveling continue for this couple. Walker sums up well their commitment to their students.

鈥淭eaching is a hard job. It鈥檚 tiring, there is a lot of paperwork, and you don鈥檛 always feel appreciated. But those moments when students get excited, geek out, and figure out something they鈥檇 struggled with make it a profession unlike any other. Now that I teach, I can鈥檛 imagine myself doing anything else.鈥�