Oswaldo Ordonez was running his own business in Bucaramanga, Colombia when he came across an ad for Educational Partners International on Facebook.
He clicked on the link and learned that EPI hires international teachers to come work in schools in the United States. Ordonez went ahead and applied, and two days later EPI contacted him to start the formal hiring process, and he was subsequently selected by Cane Bay Middle Principal Carol Beckmann-Bartlett for an interview.
Shortly after the interview, Ordonez received an e-mail saying Bartlett had selected him as a Spanish teacher for her school.
“I freaked out,” Ordonez said lightheartedly.
It was a quick turnover; in July 2019, within a month of applying, Ordonez was on his way to South Carolina.
He has taught a total of 14 years and is finishing up his second year teaching at Cane Bay Middle, and he comes from a family of teachers: his mom was a teacher for 42 years and two of his siblings are teachers.
“It’s in my veins,” he said.
This is actually his second time working in the United States; he worked as an au pair from 2005 to 2007 in Chicago to a family with three children, with whom he is still keeps in touch.
“I had the chance to go and do that job and I loved it – I fell in love with this country, and I respect this country a lot,” Ordonez said.
He keeps the Colombian flag hanging on one side of his classroom, not too far from the mounted American flag above his desk.
“I represent those colors, (but) I respect this one’s,” he said, pointing from the Colombian flag to the American. “Because it opened the doors for me to meet amazing people here.”
He has a three-year contract with EPI, and he can travel in and out of the United States, but he has the option to extend it two more years – he said he will not be able to leave the United States during those two years but he can still travel within the country during that time.
He plans on staying at Cane Bay Middle all five years – and hopefully longer.
“I fell in love with this school since day one,” he said, adding that being new two years ago was challenging, but he grew close to the teachers he worked with. “Two of my great friends are here – I met them here and they’ve been very supportive…for me all the time.
“And…I can’t ask for a better person to be my principal,” he added. “Dr. Bartlett is amazing…she is phenomenal, she is my role model.”
In Colombia he taught Spanish, English and world cultures, which he incorporates with his Cane Bay students. Anytime his students learn about a new country, he brings in food from that country for his students to sample (and obviously the first country they try out is Colombia).
Ordonez’s hope is to leave a lasting impact on his students; he really wants them to see him as a role model, and someone who loves to explore the world.
“Everything is possible if they want it,” he said. “I was…just sitting one day in my country, and all of a sudden I ended up coming up here. I want them to understand that there’s more out there in the world to explore, to know, to visit, to learn from.”
Ordonez said sometimes students may think there is nothing “more” to check out beyond the United States – but he happily disputes that, saying traveling helps one grow as a person.
“There’s amazing things for you to know and explore….so go and explore,” he said, adding that he likes to tell his family: “Kids are kids everywhere in the world. The only thing that changes with them is their nationality. Other than that, I have the same kind of kids back in the classroom.”
Ordonez wants to get his Master’s in education and eventually get his doctorate. He plans on staying in the classroom.
“I love this interaction with them (the children),” he said, adding, “I love being around my students.”
In addition to Spanish and English, Ordonez can speak French, German, Italian and Portuguese.
Ordonez is very close to his family, and in addition to having a family of his own one day, one of his life goals is to bring his mother to Jerusalem, saying it is a place his mother has always wanted to see.
“I want and I pray to God that he will give me the strength, the money…to take her there because I want to make that dream come true for her,” he said.
Ordonez has not been able to travel back to Colombia during the pandemic but he had the chance to fly his mother and one of his brothers over for a month-long visit earlier this semester. He took them to New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
“We had a blast – it was amazing…They loved it, they didn’t even want to go back,” he said.
He resides in Summerville with his 2-year-old male Yorkie mix, Kharlie (pronounced “Charlie”).