Staff Interview with Teresa Garcia

What led your path to working with TeachPTY?

I got to know Jose and fell in love with the project. I know a lot about marketing and advertising, so after seeing his first posts and moves, I felt like it had more potential. I offered to help around and eventually I was head on fully in charge.

Can you tell us about your current role at TeachPTY?

I’m mostly the content creator and the community manager, helping with the merchandising, strategies, and decision making for the organization and brand as a whole.

What is your favorite part of your job?

On marketing and advertising you have to convince yourself and your customers that what you’re selling is the best. But when I’m working for TeachPTY I don’t have to convince myself, I just know and feel it all the time. TeachPTY is AMAZING. Giving kids knowledge has no price.

How has your double major in Marketing and Management influenced your current work?

My marketing lets my mind flow and my creativity explode, but my management side lets me think more strategically and actually look for the purpose of doing what I’m doing on a more organized and business related way.

You have studied in the United States and Spain. What lessons did you learn from these experiences?

I learned to be independent, to let go of what is known and usual, and I got out of my comfort zone. Exploring new cultures makes my mind rich. I’m very perceptive and observant and I believe you can learn so much from people and places just by looking at them.

Why should potential volunteers choose TeachPTY?

It’s different. You’ll have a house of your own, time for yourself, time to relax, to explore, and to give back. And guess what? There are not many places where it’s always summer and you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean on the same day. This small country has a lot to offer, so if you’re not looking for something mainstream TeachPTY and Panama are the way to go.

What can an individual expect from an experience with Teach PTY?

Wonderful and heartwarming teaching experiences, happy times, becoming part of a community, fun people, and amazing places.

Why is it important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures?

It’s not easy to explain. But you never know how important it is until you do it. It’s an experience that once you start you can never stop. Refreshing your mind and the feeling that every day is a new adventure is priceless.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

I think all travel is meaningful, but you can make it life changing when you travel not just for you but for helping others.

Are there any new TeachPTY developments in the works that we can expect to see in the near future?

Yes, we are developing new programs and hopefully they will be out on the next year and a half—small hint: it’s focused on the environment. Our plans for the future are far too great and exciting, so fingers crossed and let’s hope everything goes just as planned.

What challenges do you face in your role and how you overcome them?

I have a full time job and do this on the side. I can’t be at Pedasí all the time so getting the pictures taken can be a bit hard. I go twice a month and receive the volunteers, guide them, and take them on the city tours with the founder. So my challenge is always time, I need more hours in my days to do the things as I want. I’m planning on moving to Pedasí next year, and then I guess I’ll have other challenges.

What types of content do you create for TeachPTY?

I create the social media content and I do the brainstorming for the English classes with the founders. Then he talks about it with the rest of the team and volunteers—sometimes they do things as planned or they turn it around to ways I couldn’t even imagine. I also manage the advertising and brand design/image.

Why should participants choose TeachPTY over other providers?

We’ve had people that stayed a month in other country and when they arrive they love it. First of all they have a house of their own with their own private space (so that’s a plus). The classes are given inside the house, so they don’t have to take public transportation to get to their responsibilities.

They have free mornings to do as they please, all the meals are included from Monday to Thursday. They can create the content or decide what they can bring to the class—their strengths and weaknesses are taken into account. You have bikes to move around, wifi, a/c, and Pedasi is a really safe place and no one has ever felt insecure.

The founder is with the volunteers at all times, he helps around with everything and will help the volunteers book their weekend trips to make the most out of them. And as I said before, Panama is a hidden gem, with many places to discover.