English language teacher Shana Gelin has taken her Charles Sturt University (CSU) education to the Indonesian island of Sumatra where she is now Director of Studies at a private school in Jambi province. The CSU graduate teaches children as young as four, local doctors, school and university students, as well as environmentalists and lawyers working to preserve the jungles of Sumatra from illegal logging activities. “A lot of it is hard work but the return on that is working with really interesting people. If I didn’t have the TESOL Diploma, I wouldn’t have got this job,” said Ms Gelin. She began her two years of study for a graduate certificate, then a graduate diploma of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from CSU, while working in the impoverished public school system in South Africa. Living in mud huts with no running water or electricity her main focus was trying to get rid of corporal punishment in the schools. “I did see some change but it was slow and very hard work. It wasn’t just the school system and the living conditions but the impact of HIV/ Aids is horrifying," Ms Gelin said.