AV俱乐部

I graduated in October of 2015 with a combined honours degree in Poli Sci and IDS.  

I've been living and working in Kosovo. I work for a fast-growing, local NGO called TOKA. TOKA's mandate is to improve Kosovar society by using educational experiences to shape young people into agents of positive change. 

To give some context, it's 16 years after the war, development money is drying up, relations with Serbia are tense, and Kosovo is struggling with corruption in the highest levels of government. It has the youngest population in Europe, yet the school system is falling short of properly educating these young people. The school structure is authoritative, and it isn't uncommon for kids to be beaten in the classroom. In this context, TOKA is trying to provide an alternative model for education based on respect and learning through fun. 

At TOKA I'm the lead program designer and trainer, which means I develop the experiential learning programs and train our 20 or so local staff in how to lead them. To give you an idea, in the spring we completed 14 weeks of programs in three schools, with a total of 500 students. They are now part of the school curriculum. 

TOKA also ran five summer camps, where I acted as program director. We modelled the programs off Canadian style camps, but we put more emphasize on environmental education and community service. The intention was for the kids to experience a values-based culture, and to learn about the importance of nature conservation and giving back to their communities. The whole thing was very successful, with many kids calling it "the best week for their lives".

All that to say that one option for what to do after graduating is to throw yourself into a different culture, in a fairly senior position, and to learn as you go. My story isn't necessarily a conventional next step after a Political Science degree, but I thought it would be interesting enough to share.