From serving as a Foreign Service Fellow, U.S. Embassy Dakar for the U.S. Department of State, to an Intern, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations- Advanced Analytics [also with the U.S. Department of
State] to an English Teaching Assistant with The Fulbright Program, 2019 Hoover graduate Joe Jocas is building an impressive resume.
“I am interested in the intersection between international affairs and the digital engagement space — especially how tools like the Internet, social media, and digital technology affect governance, human rights, misinformation, and election security,” according to his LinkedIN page.
Jocas’ experiences have taken him all over, and he currently is teaching English in Lithuania. Having a son living over in another country and pursuing what he is passionate about is important to his mother, Mrs. Michelle Rodriguez.
“Joe is a traveler at heart, wanting to positively impact the world,” she said. “But he must experience this world first-hand, to have a fundamental understanding of our similarities and differences.”
Jocas is teaching English grades 9-12 in Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region of Europe, one of three Baltic states along with Estonia and Latvia. In addition to English, he also “pops into all sorts of classes,” including geography, history, civics, cooking and technology. Students in these grades are 15-18 years old.
“[Lithuanians] can get a license for a motorcycle at 15, so that’s how a lot of my students get to high school,” he said. “School buses are more like yellow vans, and there’s only one high school for the whole city, so students play basketball or volleyball for the city instead of having a school team with a mascot.
Although working and living in another country, Jocas’ “everyday life follows a fairly standard routine.”
“During the weekdays, I teach from 8 a.m. to around noon, and spend my free time making lesson plans, going to the gym, and cooking,” he said. “But on the weekends, I like to take advantage of the nature around me. Almost 30 percent of Lithuania is covered by forests, and I live in a city that is known for its ubiquitous pines, oaks, and birch trees.”
In fact, initially, it looked much like home.
“The moment I got off the plane, my first thought was ‘this looks an awful lot like Ohio,’” he said. “But when I moved into my place here in the countryside, I began to see some pretty stark differences. Almost everyone has a garden and a greenhouse, so everyday you eat fresh honey, apples, jam, raspberries, pears, and tomatoes.”
By far, Jocas’ favorite aspect about living abroad is the history of the country.
“Although it declared its independence from the Russian Empire in 1918, historical records suggest that it was a country as far back as 1009,” he said. “This means that ‘Lithuanians’ have existed for thousands of years, making the country’s most famous landmarks very, very old. There are castles from the late 13th century, Gothic churches from the 14th century, and one of the oldest trees in Europe is estimated to be a whopping one to two thousand years old.”
Given his vast historical knowledge, Jocas said he wouldn’t have expected to be teaching English.
“My degree is actually in international affairs,” he said. “My career is definitely malleable, and maybe this is the only time in my life that I occupy a role as a teacher. But I can say with absolute certainty that it’s no mistake I ended up teaching.”
One of the teachers Jocas thanks is art teacher Mr. Chris Triner. Jocas’ artwork is available online, and Triner spoke about Jocas’ days at Hoover. Seeing him as a good listener and storyteller, it is not surprising Jocas is exploring this path in life.
“Once he got to California for college, he told me that is where his interest in service to others, and specifically working overseas became an interest,” Triner said. “Not only was he a talented artist, he was well-spoken, thanks to years of Speech and Debate, very involved in social justice causes, and was knowledgeable about his own culture/heritage.”
Although well-prepared at Hoover, Jocas still spoke of struggles in working abroad.
“My job doesn’t have too many difficulties, but one struggle that I encountered early on was intimidation,” he said. “Not only am I a new teacher, but I’m a native speaker in a language they’re learning, so many students don’t
feel confident in their English. I’ve learned to break the ice with conversation at the beginning of class, outside coffee chats, and keeping the environment upbeat and energized.”
Again, Jocas thanks his mentors in North Canton City Schools.
“If it weren’t for the dedicated Hoover educators that made me enjoy going to class and feel like a valued student, I would not have even applied to this program,” Jocas said. “Especially now, I have even more respect for the [education] industry when I consider how much time it takes to craft lesson plans, engage students, and invest in their progress. If I am a good teacher, it is only because I am emulating the styles and methods of Hoover faculty.”
