English Major Out in the World: Kayla Mendoza

By Jefferson Beavers, Communication Specialist, Department of English

Photo: Fresno State alumna Kayla Mendoza in the Philip Levine Reading Room in the Fresno State Library. Mendoza teaches English abroad at the DYB Choisun Language Academy in Seoul, South Korea.

---

“I had only ever lived in Visalia my whole life … so I kind of knew if I went straight into the credential program, then I would end up getting a job here in the Valley, and I would never leave.”

Fresno State alumna Kayla Mendoza decided that she wanted to get out of her comfort zone and travel to new and different places, so she landed a teaching job at an English language academy in Seoul, South Korea.

In her role, she teaches English to native Korean speakers at multiple skill levels between the fourth and eighth grades. The job entails all the basics you might expect — reading, critical thinking, essay writing, grammar, etc. But, teaching English outside the United States also brings the added dimensions of language and culture exchange. For Mendoza, this has included learning enough Korean to navigate her school and city, literally and figuratively.

Mendoza transferred to Fresno State from College of the Sequoias in spring 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began. While temporarily learning from home instead of commuting to campus, she put her extra time into researching the many teaching opportunities abroad.

Mendoza graduated summa cum laude from Fresno State in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in English education. In the future, she hopes to further her education back in the U.S. and also teach English in another country. 

She hopes that all of her experiences in the classroom, no matter where those experiences happen, make her a more well-rounded teacher.

Meet Kayla

This video was filmed by Jefferson Beavers and edited by Celeste Jones for Fresno State’s College of Arts and Humanities. Additional footage in Seoul was taken by Kayla Mendoza.

If you’re a Fresno State English alumni and you have an inspiring career story that you’d like to share, please submit this short “Share Your Success Stories” form, or contact Jefferson Beavers at jbeavers@mail.fresnostate.edu or 559.278.1569.

— — — 
Editor’s note: This story is the fourth installment of the video series “English Majors Out in the World,” highlighting English Department alumni who’ve taken unexpected career paths while translating their academic success into community success.