Starting your career over in a new country with different requirements, customs, and vocabularies can be an intimidating endeavor. That’s why Global Talent brings together New American job seekers and local business professionals for a day of networking and interview practice.

Global Talent’s most recent Career Summit took place March 17 at the College of Western Idaho in Boise, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Two dozen Idaho business professionals came together to network with and coach 10 Global Talent job seekers from countries including Mexico, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Columbia.

Job seekers went through multiple rounds of practice interviews for a hypothetical job in their field, whether that be education or management, engineering, or filmmaking.

Teachers from the English Language Center in Boise will present in Portland this month at the TESOL 2023 International Convention & English Language Expo, the largest professional development event of its kind.

The staff will share their success in using WhatsApp to virtually teach students, many of whom don't have easy access to Wi-Fi, computers or transportation.

The English Language Center serves adults coming to Boise through refugee resettlement, and access to a computer or a vehicle is often a challenge. WhatsApp, a free and widely used smartphone messaging app, has proved to be a valuable tool even now that classes have switched to a hybrid model.

“Many of our students didn’t even have a smartphone or own their own cellphone at all before they came here,” said ELC Curriculum Coordinator Devon Jancin. “So the lack of technology access is a huge problem with online learning, and our presentation is giving direct solutions for how to bridge that gap.”
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Students have given positive feedback, too.

“WhatsApp helps me learn English online because it’s good for listening," ELC student Abdul said. "I can repeat again and again.”

The English Language Center, a program of the Idaho Office of Refugees in Boise, is pleased to welcome two new teachers, Lila Lake and Rylee Godfrey!

Lila Lake earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Boise State University in 2015 and has been working with students ever since. She spent eight years as a high school English teacher in the Treasure Valley and has taught everything from creative writing to a business writing workshop. Her favorite thing about teaching being part of a community of learners and watching her students’ confidence grow! She couldn’t be more thrilled to join the English Language Center to continue her teaching journey. When she isn’t teaching, Lila can be found hiking in the foothills, learning how to sew her own clothes, and traveling.