Alumni Spotlight

Center For Tomorrow’s Leader Class of 2004   

Name: Alison Kadesch

Birthplace: Georgia, USA

High School and Graduation Year: Monalua High School, 2004

Post-Secondary Education:  BA Yale University, 2004; MSc Oxford University, 2010

Current Occupation: Kindergarten Teacher

Current Location: Paris, France

After graduating from CTL and Moanalua High School in 2004, I spent the next four years studying at Yale University, where I found a love for psychology, language, and teaching.  Following Yale, with my psychology degree in hand, a few languages under my belt, and a teaching certificate, I decided that I wanted to work in an international school, where hopefully my love for both teaching and learning would continue. That decision brought me to Frankfurt, Germany, where I began teaching kindergarten in a linguistically and culturally diverse international school.  After two years in Frankfurt, I then moved to Oxford in the United Kingdom, to pursue an MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Oxford. Through my coursework and my research in Oxford, I gained a solid understanding of the language acquisition process and was inspired to return to a linguistically diverse classroom yet again. That inspiration led me to Paris, France, where I have lived for the past two years, teaching kindergarten to a linguistically diverse international community and working to improve my own French language skills. 

Even as I live and work on the other side of the world though, I am still constantly encouraged by the work of the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders. Getting to know such a talented and diverse group of peers and local leaders was an empowering experience. CTL also encouraged me to follow my own personal set of strengths and reminded me that leadership was essential in every organization, even in the kindergarten classroom. I’m therefore extremely thankful for CTL’s investment in my life and I can only hope to pass on the same investment to the next generation,  to both my students here in France and at home, to Hawaii’s youth.