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Employee Spotlight: Marlee Devine

Moving to another country is difficult. Marlee Devine, a teacher resources coordinator, makes the transition process as smooth and stress-free as possible for ambassadors each year. Marlee works in Participate Learning’s teacher resources department, where ambassadors are her focus each and every day.

What does the work look like?

Her typical workday is spent answering questions from the many ambassadors working with Participate Learning. She also manages the local advisor program that offers ambassadors a friendly face to interact with when they need help. Ambassadors rely on the support provided by Marlee and her team. In many cases ambassadors have a difficult time adjusting when first coming to the United States. The tax and healthcare systems can be completely different and may be hard to navigate. Marlee makes sure that our ambassadors have a strong support network.

“Everyone adjusts at their own pace,” she said.

Every day brings a new challenge. Marlee is excited each day because she knows something new will happen.

“Day to day can be unpredictable, which also makes things more exciting!” she said.

Why Participate Learning?

 
Marlee loves working in teacher resources and with her team. They try to have fun while helping teachers as much as possible. She is fascinated with different languages and cultures, and this fascination led her to Participate Learning. Working with teachers from different countries allows her to interact with different cultures daily.

“I love connecting with and helping them during their transition to living and working in the US. We learn from each other.” said Marlee.

Orientation is Marlee’s favorite time of the year. Ambassadors arrive to the United States over the summer and teacher resources receives them with open arms. It is a busy time, but Marlee would not change a thing.

“It is very rewarding to extend a warm welcome to all of our new ambassadors and see how excited they are,” Marlee said.

Looking to the future

Growth is on Marlee’s mind. She hopes that Participate Learning will continue to serve students by expanding into more areas. She wishes that rural areas in North Carolina and new states try Participate Learning.

“Ambassadors bring so much to their classrooms and so many children here could really benefit from the cultural exchange!” she said.

Marlee is working on a new visa software that will make the process faster and more effective. The company that provides the software is based in Chapel Hill. She is excited about the new program because she will be able to better serve teachers.

Make each other better

Participate Learning’s core value, make each other better, inspires Marlee. “In this department, we work hard together to support our ambassadors as best we can because we want to see them succeed here in the US,” she said.

Thanks to employees like Marlee, Participate Learning’s ambassadors get the best experience possible!

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