Elissa graduated in 2011 from Cal-State Chico with a double major Bachelors of Arts in Linguistics and Asian Studies. In addition, she also obtained her TESOL certification. While studying abroad for a year in Korea, Elissa got her first taste of international teaching in cram schools and volunteer poetry classes. After university, she went on to join the Peace Corps to volunteer as an English teacher in small villages in the south of Albania. She taught all ages and all skill levels, but focused on providing access to English education as much as possible. Having volunteered in Albania for two years, Elissa moved on to a bilingual academy in Taiwan where she taught 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade. Here, she also began coaching speech, debate, and political relations-- one of her students even went on to win first place at the county speech fair. During this time, Elissa received her Masters of Arts in Communication and Education. In 2016, Elissa felt the need to return to Albania where she found a job teaching middle school English at the Memorial International School of Tirana. Here, she has not only taught English to grades 6, 7, 8, and 9, but she has also held a speech club, a politics club, helped with Model United Nations, and taught ukulele. This will be her second year presenting at the CLIL conference.
