Teaching was something that Jordan Triezenberg wanted to pursue from early on in his own schooling. The impact of those who taught him and his love of history made him desire to work in education. 

“I felt that it would be fulfilling to work within the subject that I loved while creating a great environment for learning the same way my teachers did for me,” said Triezenberg.

When he was finishing up his undergraduate degree and searching for jobs, he met with representatives from an international school in Indonesia who were looking to hire teachers from English speaking countries. He took the job and ended up teaching in Jakarta, Indonesia for four years. The school has an international curriculum but most of his students are Indonesian and their instruction is in English.

“Since it is a private school that prepares students for international study, the fees are high and it is more focused on academics rather than sports and social clubs. Most students are focused on which colleges and universities they want to attend since most of them will move abroad to study.”

After a brief return to the United States, Triezenberg is back teaching at the same school in Indonesia but now he is also expanding his own education by earning his MBA in Education Leadership at MSOE. Taking his courses online, he has been able to continue teaching across the world in Indonesia, 12 hours ahead of MSOE. 

“My advisor and the other students in my cohort have been great in their flexibility to find meeting times that work for everyone. While there are certain weeks that I find myself working almost nonstop from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed, there are also weeks when things slow down a bit. The program also goes by relatively quickly, so I can already look ahead and see that I’m about halfway through, which motivates me to keep going.”

Triezenberg wanted to obtain his MBA-EL to give himself options for his future: whether that is continuing to teach in the classroom or entering a leadership role in education. He wants to urge others to not only consider this program as an opportunity to further their own education, but also the teaching profession as a whole due to all its possibilities.

“A career in education is not as limiting as many people think it is. You can travel the world by teaching at international schools. You can work all over the U.S. especially since many states are relaxing their certification processes. You can work your way into administrative positions and you can work on the business side of a school district. Teaching requires a skill set that is useful for anyone who might want to do something else in the future. I work with and know a lot of teachers who have been in and out of education, so don’t skip out on trying the education field because you think you might be stuck in a career you don’t like.”

When he isn’t balancing teaching and his degree, Triezenberg enjoys golfing, playing tennis and listening to audiobooks. He has also started indoor rock climbing at a bouldering gym close to his home in Indonesia to get exercise and relieve stress.