update > AlumniScene 40 CHALLENGE > Fall / Winter 09 Homecoming 2009
Alumni Alum Justin Setty Credits TU For His Success as Peace Corps Volunteer Focus <strong>Tiffin</strong> <strong>University</strong> alumnus Justin Setty could have easily utilized his criminal justice degree upon graduation and immediately started a long and distinguished career. <strong>In</strong>stead, the May 2009 forensic psychology major decided first to give back to his country by joining the Peace Corps. His assignment led him to <strong>In</strong>eu, Romania – a small town of approximately 9,000 residents near the Hungarian Border. His job is to teach English at an industrial high school. Justin says his experience as a tutor in TU’s Learning Center (recently renamed the Student Success Center) helped him secure the teaching role with the Peace Corps. When I first applied, I wondered what I could do, since my criminal justice education didn’t directly relate to the Peace Corps programs,” he says. “But I really loved tutoring, and I was placed in the education sector.” He explains, “There are aspects of the forensic psychology program that have helped me in particular. I believe the psychology courses helped a lot in navigating my new role as a teacher. My experience here has led me to conclude that psychology is an extremely important tool to be used in teaching.” Justin says that the emphasis placed on research by his professors in the TU School of Criminal Justice and Social Sciences is another aspect of his education that helped him to prepare for his service. “Research trains you to take an idea and work with it over a very long span of time to reach a final result,” he remarks. “While I may not be working in criminal justice here, the long road of language acquisition, cultural integration, and working towards becoming an effective teacher honestly felt very similar.” <strong>In</strong>terestingly, Justin also credits his TU athletic career in preparing him for his Peace Corps assignment. “Being a Dragon taught me a lot about overcoming challenges to gain results,” he explains. IT’S THE HaRDEST JOB YOu’ll EVER lOVE’ by Justin Setty October 28, 2009 – As fall comes to my home in the States, it also comes to Romania. It’s comforting to experience my favorite season, but in a different way. <strong>In</strong>stead of spiced apple cider, it’s spiced red wine. <strong>In</strong>stead of easy-to-make food from a box, it’s figuring out what really goes in all those foods. <strong>In</strong>stead of crosscountry meets on golf courses in crisp autumn air, it is Tuesday afternoon soccer games with my co-workers before the early sunset. The members of Peace Corps Group 26 have been at their respective sites for about two and a half months. The previous groups that came to Romania before us have entered their second or third year of service. I’ve learned a great deal since arriving in <strong>In</strong>eu, but the need to learn much more is still there and will be there until “close-of-service.” On the language side of things, I feel pretty confident in saying that my skill with the Romanian language has improved since I arrived in <strong>In</strong>eu. It is very hard to measure what constitutes “improvement” though. Sometimes I can maintain prolonged interaction using Romanian and then sometimes it is a challenge to simply say, “No, thank you.” I tend to study Romanian alone in a lot of my free time. Not having a TV connection has led to more studying, a lot of book reading, and more time spent in the kitchen. I try to meet with a tutor for about an hour a week to clarify grammar and verb usage. <strong>In</strong> addition to the obvious need to gain fluency within the community, there is the need to gain fluency within my classroom (where Romanian is needed to lead into English). As I write these words, it is currently the seventh week of the fall Semester. The complete and utter confusion from the first two weeks has cleared and revealed that the biggest challenge is before me. The highs of teaching students who want to learn have been mixed with the lows of attempting to teach the students who do not. Discipline issues and disruptive social dynamics are present in every school whether it is in America or Romania, including mine. At this point in my service, the biggest question is this: “How do I address the unique discipline issues of my school in such a way as to create a positive learning environment for each student?” Having the ability to take half of each class to my own classroom has been a strong piece to this puzzle. Unfortunately, it has turned out to be a smaller piece than I originally thought. Now is the time to dig deeper, gain better insight into how my school operates, and review our training. They did say, “It’s the hardest job you’ll ever love.” www.tiffin.edu > 41