Many teachers complete their career having taught at a few different schools in the area.  For one science teacher, Bethany Tollberg, her résumé includes teaching in Honduras for a year.

Instead of teaching at LZHS for the 2011-2012 school year, Tollberg taught math and science at Rancho Ebenezer, an orphanage and school, about a half hour outside of Tegucigalpa.

Tollberg visited the ranch multiple times on medical brigade trips before she discovered that they were in need of higher level math and science teachers.

“I thought I would [teach in Honduras] maybe in five or ten years or even after I retire,” Tollberg said.  “I was thinking way in the future, but things just worked out and got to the point where I was filling out applications and getting paperwork out of the way.  Then [the school] told me they needed someone for next year.”

Initially, Tollberg was unsure the opportunity would work out.  Before she could make a commitment, she needed to figure out many logistics.

“I have a house and a cat, and you need to raise money to go down there because they don’t pay for it.  And I have a job at Lake Zurich that I really like and I don’t want to lose it,” Tollberg said.  “I prayed about it for a while and it came down to if I could get a year’s leave of absence from school, I would go down there.”

After talking to Kim Kolze, principal, Tollberg was granted a leave of absence. 

“Suddenly I was like, ‘oh, I’m going to Honduras for a year.  Now I have to raise money, find someone to rent my house, find someone to take care of my cat, and all of these other things,’” Tollberg said.

After making accommodations, Tollberg was set to teach physics, sixth grade math, seventh grade math, advanced math, a science class, and a health class.

Only 40 students lived at the ranch, so she only taught ten high schoolers a day.  In her physics class, she only taught one student.

“Living in one community let me get to know [the students].  When I left, one of my students came up to me and told me I became more of her older sister than her teacher,” Tollberg said.

Tollberg says this bond between students was not uncommon since the orphanage was a community. 

“It’s very relational there. After I teach maybe I’ll have a student or two who comes over.  Or maybe I’ll go to the soccer fields and hang out with them and play soccer a little bit or talk to some of the parents who are up there,” Tollberg said.  “Or maybe I’ll go to someone’s house and get myself invited over for dinner.”

Tollberg says she enjoyed the opportunity to mentor students rather than simply teach them.  When she returned to LZHS, however, she went from teaching 10 students to over 100.

“[The transition back] has been hectic.  I’ve had to learn new names, a new website, new assessment tools, and I’m teaching a new class,” Tollberg said.

While her first month back at LZHS has been busy, she says it has calmed down and that she truly enjoys returning to LZHS. 

“I love being here, I like teaching here, but on the other hand I miss people from home, or rather from Honduras,” Tollberg said.

Tollberg visited Honduras again over the summer, and spent a week back at the ranch.  Since then, she has kept in touch with certain teachers and former students and hopes to visit next summer.

In the meantime, she is teaching science at LZHS and sharing her experiences with her students.

“A few kids have asked me about [my trip] on an individual basis,” Tollberg said.  “I haven’t had much of a chance to talk about it a lot yet because we’re still at the getting to know you stage, but as the year goes on, I hope to have more conversations.”

Tollberg does not want to just share her stories, she wants to instill some of the lessons she learned in her students.

“Don’t limit yourself in what you’re doing because if you would’ve asked me three years ago if I would’ve done what I did this past year, I probably would’ve said I’d be teaching at Lake Zurich doing the same thing I’ve always done,” Tollberg said.  “When I really felt like God was telling me to go down there, I was like, ‘no, there’s no way.’ In the end, I did it and it was amazing; it completely changed my life.”