The journey has been long but nevertheless exhilarating; sometimes difficult and demanding but worth every step and the final destination has been gratifying and rewarding. I joined as a computer teacher at WBFN (then WBVS) in 1998 and this year I complete ten years being in the position. I am originally from Russia, but came to Washington from Madrid, Spain; where my husband and I were living at the time. I completed my B.S in Computer Science back in Russia (then Soviet Union) but did my Masters in Management Information Systems at the George Washington University. I am blessed with a wonderful family: my husband Juan Navas (is from Madrid, Spain), and our two daughters aged 8 and 4 years were born here.
How I landed my job as a computer teacher at WBFN is interesting. It was really being at the right place at the right time with the right skills. I was invited to a welcoming coffee and during the course of a conversation with Maha Oteifa from Egypt and a WBVS member, I learned of the fact that the WBVS was looking for a computer teacher since the previous teacher, Gloria Vetter, was leaving for New York. I was asked to come for an interview with Joanne Garrity and Hada Zaidan, two people who still help me with their wisdom and advice. The trial period was the hardest time of my life but in October 1998, I confidently began my first class.
It is fascinating to see the transformation of the courses at WBFN through the years. Back then, there were no Adobe Photoshop or Dreamweaver courses, just the basic ones like Windows, Word, Excel and we even had so called “Never-Ever” course for the people who had never touched a computer. With the help and invaluable advice from people like Gilda Dadush, Louise Shimizu and Rula Ghani, I have kept improving and adding courses to keep up with the changing technology. Today we have 10 courses (see page 30 for more details) including Digital image editing (Photoshop) and even Web Site Creation (Dreamweaver). By February 2009 we will have Windows Vista course along with the Office 2007 courses. My courses vary in length from 2 to 5 days and the classes usually run from 9:30 to 12:30. The classes are held in the U building at the World Bank Institute. My students range from 18 to 80 (almost 3000 in total by now) and they are truly international, World Bank and IMF employees, spouses, partners, family members and retirees can all sign up to take these courses. I very often have groups where all 8 participants (the maximum number of students due to the fact that we have 8 computers in the classroom) are from different countries. We always have a great time learning in a relaxed atmosphere and having great conversations during our coffee breaks.
It is always hard to have work-home balance but thanks to my family and students I have managed to succeed. It had happened only once but I had to call and cancel my class at short notice. My little one was sick and my husband was away on a mission and there was no one to take care of her. Every single student of mine agreed to come for the class on another day. It is a wonderful feeling to have such understanding students.
I always feel fortunate just to belong to the WB community, where I meet such educated, culturally rich people. And I feel even more so to share my knowledge with them. I like the volunteer spirit of WBFN and put my share by giving free courses for the Mosaic, Welcoming or Book Project volunteers, helping with the databases or coming to the MMMF fair.
On this tenth anniversary of my classes I want to extend my gratitude to all those who have helped me. First of all, to all my dear students who bring their desire to learn, culture and humor to my courses. And these exceptional ladies – Let’s begin with, Joanne Garrity who was brave enough to hire me and helped and still does with her advice; who always understood my working-mom situation and organized my first baby-shower that I will never forget; Louise Shimizu; who helps with everything and has tons of patience to deal with the administration and scheduling. To the lovely and never-tired of me Christinne and Mimi whom I feel I know forever and who helps me with the administrative requirements like getting the applications and signing up students, putting the information in the Mosaic etc. I cannot forget Aida Hafez who showed me around Washington and the one who encouraged me to keep working as a teacher. Last but not the least the most important person in my life, my husband, Juan. I am what I am today only because of his encouragement and support. He goes out of his way to help me with the studies or anything else so that I can balance both work and family. Many thanks to my parents back in my home country, who always support me with their everlasting love and view my success as their own.
As I look back lovingly at the ten long years that I have spent as a computer teacher I feel very grateful to all those who have helped me move ahead in this field.
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As narrated to Vidya Rangan