Getting Children Excited About Learning Again

Ben Doremus ’07 teaches in Italy — by Danielle Ward ’08 and Dan Stefan ’10

We talked to Ben Doremus ’07 recently about his job as a web design and information technology teacher at the International School of Trieste (IST), Italy.

An electrical and computer engineering graduate, Ben described his Lafayette experience as “fantastic,” but the one regret of his college years was that he never went abroad. “Nearly all my friends did, and I heard all of their amazing stories,” he said. “So when the time came to graduate, I knew I wanted to do something adventurous for a little while.”

Ben’s adventure took him to the heart of Trieste, where his days begin with an hour-long commute with “the most picturesque view of the city imaginable.” From there, he’s engaged in a flurry of activity. Ben teaches everything from Java programming and the basics of Microsoft Office to a sixth-grade math unit on architecture. He lends his support to an upper-level physical education class and advises the photography club after school. He is also in charge of maintaining the school’s computer lab and fixing network problems as they arise.

Ben has a particular challenge as English is a second language for nearly all of the students. But struggling through the language barrier is all worth it.

“As difficult as the students can be, they are also the source of all the rewards,” he says. “There is no better feeling in the world than when a parent comes in to thank you for getting their child excited about learning again.”

Ben said that his time at Lafayette taught him what it takes to teach. “The most important skill I learned was simply how to learn. Through hands-on labs and a plethora of intriguing projects, I learned how to explore and learn new topics at an astonishing rate.”

This training allowed him to dive headfirst into his new surroundings and learn how to do all the tasks expected of him. He even had time to learn some other important information. “I learned enough Italian to scare the students when they realize I understand their chatter in the halls,” he said.

Ben said that the transition from Lafayette to Trieste was challenging but exciting. His experiences in Lafayette’s close-knit intellectual communities at both McKelvy House and Reeder Street helped prepare him.

“Being a part of the McKelvy/Reeder [Scholars] crowd certainly exposed me to many different cultural norms,” he said. “I remember that at one point, I was rooming with a guy from India, down the hall was someone from Ghana, and across the way was a polyglot girl who was going to do her Fulbright in Austria. Needless to say, I had seen different ways of living, even when in a small town in eastern PA.”

He says that the exchange of ideas was fantastic because everyone had such different world views. He is even meeting up with a fellow McKelvy alum with whom he has remained close even after graduation.

At IST, Ben has used the other staff members for support and also found friends with a common interest.

A self-described Ultimate Frisbee addict, Ben has used the sport to meet new people and travel while in Italy. He researched for hours until he found an Ultimate team in the neighboring country of Slovenia. Twice a week he travels an hour by train to play with the group, also joining it in tournaments throughout Europe.

“The team has been playing a little over a year, and when they heard an American with eight-plus years of experience was coming to play with them, they were ecstatic,” he said. “I was equally excited, since they all spoke four or five languages, English included, and I love to share Ultimate with anyone and everyone.”

He said that this experience has provided him with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and close friendships in many European countries.

“I think a lot of people at Lafayette would enjoy doing something like this if they just knew how easy it was. I’ve been to Oktoberfest in Munich, Carnevale in Austria, seen 1,800 boats race in Italy, hiked mountains in Slovenia, and played Ultimate Frisbee in five countries,” he said. “I have close friends from Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Finland, Great Britain, Canada, and Austria. I have learned so much about my own life through seeing how the rest of the world lives; this is certainly a year that has changed my life for the better.”

“What Lafayette did best was provide opportunities, and provide the backbone needed to support whatever we students wanted,” he said. “From the academic living houses to sports clubs to ISA [International Students Association], I feel that the administration did a fantastic job providing the students with what we needed to do what we wanted.” In describing his start of the kayak club, he said that the staff help was extraordinary. “They were willing to come to every meeting, help draft proposals, and even run events. The amount of time and dedication they demonstrated really left a big impression.”

“Had I gone to a technical school or a large university to get an engineering degree, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet the amazingly different people I met,” he adds. “Undeniably, Lafayette opened the doors, pushed me through, and let me walk wherever I wanted, including Italy. “I have learned so much about my own life through seeing how the rest of the world lives; this is certainly a year that has changed my life.”

Danielle Ward ’08, an English graduate, is working as a project specialist for Pearson Education in Boston. Dan Stefan is a policy studies major from Havertown, Pa.