Introduction

St. Kitts and Nevis - lived here for 8 months

Some of my students in Japan - taught ESL for one year

Hi! Welcome to my blog for LAE 5338. My name is Joydel Trail. I'm in the MAT program and this is my third semester. I'm originally from Jamaica, but I've lived in five other islands/countries (Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, here in America, and Japan). I'm a graduate assistant here on campus in the Office of First Year Experience. I supervise peer mentors who work with freshman students. I love working these student leaders. They are innovative and receptive and do a great job in helping freshman students transition successfully into college.

Me, my boss, and student staff I supervised at Nova Southeastern University

The name of my Blog is "Chapter ?". I chose that name because it's somewhat reflective of my educational and career journey. This is my second master's degree and a change in career direction for me, so it signifies that I'm still writing my career story (hence the question mark).  My passion is to work in Student Affairs with college students, but this field is not very easy to get into in my home country, so I've chosen this new career path to create more opportunities for myself, so that I can secure a stable future. My first teaching experience came in 2013 when I served as a missionary in Japan. I taught English to junior college, junior high and elementary students in a remote town about two hours outside of Tokyo. It was one of the scariest, but most rewarding experiences of my life. The education system there was vastly different than western education. I absolutely loved a lot of aspects of the Japanese system: nutritional school lunches for every student, students and teachers being responsible for cleaning of the school, focus on arts, music and sports, and respect between teachers and students.

Ricotta pancakes!

On a personal note some of my hobbies are: cooking, trying new restaurants, shopping, and spending time with  my family and close friends.I am pescatarian (Vegetarian who eats select types of fish) and some of my favorite cuisine are: Caribbean, Indian, Thai, and Mediterranean. I am very close to my family. I have three siblings. We don't all live in the same country, but when we keep in touch and are very involved in other people's lives...sometimes too involved. :)

My parents have been educators for over 40 years and I've seen how many students they have helped achieve their goals. I hope to model their passion for education and do the same for my students.