Episode #20 Season 3 Leap To Switzerland, Teach With Heart

What if a single yes could reshape how you work, live, and care for yourself? We sit down with Kelly Donovan—middle school physical and health educator and well-being coordinator at International School Basel—to trace her leap from Pennsylvania to Switzerland and the lessons she carried across oceans. From the first spark in Mexico City’s international classrooms to a serendipitous invite that opened a door in Basel, Kelly shows how courage, clarity, and community can turn a dream into daily life. We explore the emotional arc of moving abroad—the honeymoon highs, the homesick lows, and the steady rise into adaptation—and the practical supports that made it real: a city voucher for German classes, cross-border routines, and rituals that keep family close. Inside school walls, Kelly walks us through SEE Learning, the Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning framework developed at Emory University. The team began by training teachers in cognitively based compassion practices, proving that student well-being sticks when adults embody it first. The rollout spans early years to grade 12, aligning language, habits, and goals around compassion, resilience, and systems thinking. We also dig into the culture that sustains hard work: leadership that values the person behind the teacher, real holidays with zero email pressure, and a ski week in the Alps that forges trust and grit. Kelly offers a clear path for educators curious about working overseas—mindset shifts, where to find roles (Search Associates and TES), and how to navigate partnerships, logistics, and fear. She closes with daily wellness anchors—movement, rest you don’t have to earn, cooking at home, and the simple act of noticing—as tools any teacher can adopt, anywhere. If this conversation sparks your own leap of faith, hit follow, share with a colleague who needs hope, and leave a review to help more educators find their way.

Thoughts from Kelly below:

SEE Learning

Search Associates

TES

klc9793@gmail.com 

Thanks for listening!

Transcript

Meet Kelly Donovan In Switzerland

SPEAKER_00 0:21

This is Wellness for Educators, episode 20. You need to be well to teach well. That is the motto. Seeking a healthy balance. You matter, and so does your health. There is life beyond the classroom. This is Wednesday, March 4th, 2026. Wellness for Educators, Lori Maxfield, your host. I am so excited to interview my guest today. Kelly Donovan is presently teaching in Switzerland. She has a unique perspective about taking a leap of faith. As the listeners may know, I love quotes. And I have a quote to share prior to my conversation with Kelly. The first quote is from Brian Tracy. Every great move forward in your life begins with a leap of faith, a step into the unknown. In the summer of 2023, Kelly, her husband Michael, and their dog Finn turned a shared dream into a reality. They packed up their lives in central Pennsylvania and moved to Switzerland to pursue a teaching opportunity. Today, Kelly joins us to talk about this experience and how she's navigating work, life, and the beautiful complexities of being an expat. My husband and I got to witness firsthand the beautiful country of Switzerland in the summer of 2024. Actually, we were able to visit Kelly and Michael as they gave us a wonderful tour of Basel. I am excited for her to share a bit about her international journey as an educator. The fun thing is that Zoom provides such great opportunities, even to speak with someone across the ocean and teaching abroad. Kelly is currently teaching at the International School Basel in the northwestern region of Switzerland. She teaches middle school physical and health education and is also the well-being coordinator for her division. Welcome, Kelly. Thank you, Lori.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Thank you for the welcome and for the wonderful intro.

Early International Teaching Roots

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Yeah, it is wonderful to think that you are in Switzerland and I am actually in South Carolina, and we are having this conversation. So to begin, maybe you can just share a bit about the various international opportunities you have had, because I believe Switzerland is not your first opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Right, right. So I just want to first start by thanking you for having me on the podcast and for everything you do for teacher wellness all the way back from SCASD and state high. I've listened to every episode and I find them both comforting and inspiring. So I hope to inspire someone today as well. Well, thank you. But my path to international teaching wasn't exactly planned. It just was, I sort of happened upon it during my undergraduate studies at Slippery Rock University. And it was this semester where I was deciding where I'd be placed for student teaching. And Slippery Rock had this really incredible partnership with Ireland and Mexico to do student teaching. So the deal was you'd do some of your experience in Western Pennsylvania and then the other part of your experience abroad. So it sounded interesting and a potential option. And I decided to attend an informational meeting run by the late Dr. Tom Gordon. And he was maybe one of the most influential people in my undergraduate studies. And I never even had him as a professor, just as a chaperon on this trip to Mexico. But Dr. Gordon was a social justice advocate who developed cultural awareness and diversity through international student teaching programs. And he completely sold me on the Mexico City program in this informational meeting. So in the speaker. Do you think Spanish? Do you speak Spanish? No, I had done some Spanish in high school. Oh gosh. That's a little scary. Yeah, but the beauty of international schools is the usually the language of instruction is English. Because people are coming from all over the world, and many of the students are multilingual, but the the teaching is English unless you're doing a modern language course.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

So I do have a question about that. So are the students, would you say they're like from military families? Where are the students coming from?

SPEAKER_01 5:20

It kind of depends on the nature of the job opportunities within the city you're teaching. So in Mexico, it was it was a lot of ambassadors children, and because it was an American school. But like the school I'm at now, there's a big pharmaceutical business in Basel. So they come for those jobs. So it kind of depends on the city and the infrastructure of it.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Okay. And when you applied for Switzerland, how did that all come about? Right. So how how I got the opportunity? And how yeah, like how did you hear about it? Like Yeah.

Who Attends International Schools

The Serendipity That Led To Basel

SPEAKER_01 6:02

So it goes back to my Mexico City teaching experience. There were there were a cohort of like 22 student teachers that went to do the student teaching. But then in the summer, right after we were finished and graduated, during our job search, we were contacted by our cooperating teachers to offer us jobs to teach back in Mexico. And without interviewing, without really any hesitation, there were three of us that said yes. And we moved back and taught there. We roomed together. We had just the best first teaching experience ever. Wow. But note that one of those people was a my really good friend named Dan. So fast forward to 2021, 22, the day after Michael and I got married, Dan couldn't attend the wedding, but he was passing through the next day through state college, and he moved to Switzerland to teach. And he was talking about the position that was going to be open the next school year and said, Kelly, it'd be really awesome for you to look into it. It's going to be wellness, it's going to be PE. It's right up your alley. Would you ever consider moving to Switzerland? And with like without any hesitation, Michael and I were very emphatically like, yes, of course we would consider that. Because the day before we had just vowed to kind of like spread love around the world together. That's so cute. It was just serendipitous and just a moment where we were like, well, let's make our dreams reality. So yeah, Dan was kind of the point person from Slippery Rock from Mexico that led us to Switzerland.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Wow. That that's really interesting. So you are, in my opinion, a secret adventure. And based on the photos from Facebook and Instagram, I feel like you and Michael are certainly living this in a big way. Some might say you are living the dream. I know I was an exchange student my junior year in college, and this was a real risk. Maybe appear to be scary to some people. They worry about leaving their family, and you are extremely close with your family. How do you handle this piece and possibly dealing with being homesick?

Facing Homesickness And Culture Shock

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Yeah. So at first it was a bit scary, but I think the partnership that Michael and I have and the choices we make and the research we do made it less scary. But we moved to Bosel before ever even visiting the city. And we had been to maybe two other regions of Switzerland just by vacationing before. And Dan vouched for the city, but leading up to it, we were just kind of consuming ourselves with information about it. And then we just had to kind of visualize what our lives would look like there and just imagine it to be great and imagine that we'll be there and we'll flourish. Because that's kind of what we had hoped. But I will be honest that the move, the leading up to it, and then the move, and then just acclimating to life here was very challenging. In my orientation to Mexico, we learned about what's called like a cultural roller roller coaster. So it kind of refers to this an intense fluctuation of like an emotional journey that happens when you move to a new place. And it starts with this honeymoon phase of just like pure excitement and everything's new and wonderful. But then after a bit of time, the homesickness kicks in and frustration around differences and how you live kicks in. And then it finally kind of flattens out to an adjustment and acclimation phase. And I can say we've finally like settled into the adaptation of it all. And we knew all of this ahead of time, but it didn't always make it that much easier. We were just kind of in it together.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

And then there's also the language barrier a bit. Our German is still kind of a work in progress, but the Swiss are incredible linguists. So most speak English perfectly, which is also really a nice, a nice thing.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah, that's that's huge. That's really helpful. But it is really wonderful to think that you have exposure and learning another language too.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Yeah, yeah. The city itself lends itself to when you move, they give you a language learning voucher to like enroll in German-speaking or sorry, German language classes. And of course, the payoffs are incredible. Like the challenge is worth it because Basel's in the center of everything. It's just impossible not to stay inspired when you can be in your apartment and look out one window and see the Black Forest in Germany and look out the other window and see the Vosges Mountains in France and just kind of immerse yourself in the European lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Wow. But it would be really remiss of it. But yeah, it's just amazing. So beautiful. It would be remiss of me not to mention our families, as you mentioned, homesickness as well, because we have really close ties with them. They're super important people in our lives. And so, to be honest, the news of our decision was very much a shock. We kind of kept it quiet in the initial process, not wanting to make a big thing of it before it was real.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

So not everyone was that thrilled at first. And it's still been a transition for everyone to kind of navigate, but we're we're finding our rhythm. We're obviously using wonderful tools like WhatsApp and FaceTime to bridge the gap of our physical distance. And I really love the ritual of writing postcards to my niece and nephews and grandparents. Yeah. And we also make it a priority to visit State College at least twice a year because being there in person to share just special holidays or the physical togetherness is what makes the distance feel a bit more manageable.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Right. And your dog, like when you go back to State College, do you bring your dog?

Language, Vouchers, And Basel’s Perks

SPEAKER_01 12:15

No, the flight is pretty traumatic for dogs. And the paperwork around going to and from different countries is pretty tricky. So we always just take him to a lovely little German getaway across the border. Our dog sitter named Gabrielle is just like a second family. So well, that's good. I'm glad you found her.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

So I know in your present role, you have a leadership responsibility to handle wellness with students. Can you possibly share some key elements you've learned in this present role?

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Yes, this is the part I'm most excited to chat about because of the work that you used to do and you actually mentored me before I moved in, you know, what it means to take on kind of a wellness leadership role. But this wellness and fitness has always been a passion of mine. And this leadership position was kind of another major draw for our decision to move. So, along with my teaching role, I do serve as middle school well-being coordinator, as you mentioned. And it's basically coordinating the well-being curriculum that we teach as a course to all middle school students. But it's also a role that we have Vision 2030 that it's called, that there's a pillar of that that's all well-being focused. And so we're in the works of working towards that vision. So we've implemented a framework that took a lot of research and kind of negotiating of which one we'd we'd choose. But it's implemented across the entire school. So early childhood all the way to grade 12, and even in the business office and the, you know, human resources, everyone's taking it on. But it's called C Learning, S-E-E learning, and it stands for Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Wow.

Family Ties And Staying Connected

Dog Logistics And Cross-Border Care

SPEAKER_01 14:05

And it's an evidence-based curriculum out of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. And the whole purpose of it is that it's designed to foster things like compassion and resilience and teach these skills that kids can practically use like in and out of school and hopefully the rest of their lives. And it's really important to note that it's a completely free curriculum and it's accessible online, it's accessible to all educators and schools. It's been taken on all around the world. And it really challenges students to think on like three different levels of their own personal well-being, social well-being, and then systems thinking. So more of like a common humanity global thought. So the most powerful part of this implementation has been, it was the start of this school year that our school decided it was going to be really important that if we were going to roll out a well-being program, that we ourselves as teachers make sure that we are practicing well-being and we know what it feels like to ground ourselves or resource. So they had a representative come from Emory University and he trained us in cognitively based compassion training. So it's short for CBCT. It's short for. So we spent three days as a staff engaging in the exact same practices that we were going to lead our students through in the C learning. So it was just a profound moment that you really can't successfully lead a well-being program to students unless you're willing to practice it yourself. And so it's not been perfect. It's been a journey we've all been in together with bumps and some challenges along the way, but we're really sticking to it. It's going to be a two-year rollout of the implementation. And it just feels like a huge honor to be a part of it because I mean, as we discussed in our kind of pre-chat about just the state of the world right now, we desperately need a recognition of common humanity and deeper compassion for everyone. So yeah, I just find it hugely valuable and a program that I would recommend to any educator, any school.

Building A Schoolwide Well-Being Program

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Wow. That that sounds wonderful. We all need compassion, that's for sure. So when I was I was an exchange student in England when I was in college, and I really noticed that things were very different. And that granted, it was many, many moons ago, but I felt like the schools were less stressful and it had a more laid back attitude. And I think when I think of American schools, I often think of so many demands on their teachers that this is so difficult and stressful for teachers. And that is part of the reason why I have this podcast is because I want to be able to tea help teachers alleviate some of that stress by taking care of themselves. So when when I was in college, we actually stopped at 3:30. It was like in the middle of a class and we went in and we had tea. And I did at first I thought that was so weird, but honestly, it was wonderful because I felt like there was a pause in our day and it wasn't quite as stressful. So thinking back to your time in the United States in comparison to your time in Switzerland, do you feel that it's less stressful? What do you observe with the differences between those the two countries as far as teaching is concerned?

SPEAKER_01 17:46

I have kind of a mixed response to this question because the demands and expectations that are placed on us at ISB are probably higher than any school I've ever taught at in the US. Wow. Like we work incredibly hard throughout the whole year, but I think that's just the nature of being a dedicated educator.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

Yeah, well, all teachers work so hard.

SPEAKER_01 18:08

Yeah. But the real difference I notice is, well, a couple. The the culture of support at the school kind of makes the hard work more sustainable. And it starts with the top with my principal. She sets a tone that is like really valuing the person behind the teacher. We also have generous and frequent holidays, and the school truly honors them. Like there's a there's zero expectation to check emails or do work over weekends or over holidays. So they don't just like allow leisure, they fully support us using that time to disconnect from school, disconnect from our laptops. And of course, like Switzerland is the perfect playground for that.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah. So that's one thing I hugely appreciate. And then throughout the year, there are just fun things that they integrate into the school year that makes it also more sustainable. Like one major work perk is we have a ski week every January. So each grade level and teachers included get to head to the Swiss or French Alps and ski together for an entire week. And do you stay like in a lodge? What do you do? Yeah, we stay in a lodge or a hotel all together. And it's my favorite week because it's just like community building at its best. You see the best and the worst of each other, and you challenge yourself on the slopes together and you fall, you get up, and it's just a really cool experience that I don't know if it could be replicated anywhere else just because of where, like geographically we are.

Training Teachers In Compassion Practices

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Right, exactly. Yeah. Yeah, I think the vacation, I know that my son-in-law in South Carolina, they have changed the schedule quite a bit. And now they have these weeks off. They have a week off in October, a week off in February, two weeks off at Christmas, a week off in in April. And I just think those breaks made a huge difference. I know in state college, we didn't even get federal holidays off. And I think that that's not good. I think that those breaks are really needed for the kids as well as the teachers.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

Yeah, absolutely. It really just helps reset and refocus for when you come back. Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

And I really I feel like it's great that your administration does not expect you to communicate over weekends because I think the time off is your time off. And I think you really need to unwind. And that's really important too. That's the thing. I always felt like even in the summer, I felt like the voice in your the teacher voice in your head is still like you're going to trainings and you're always thinking. And and I don't think that's good. I think it's good to kind of unwind.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah, and they practice that themselves too. So they set the bar and then it just makes you feel like you have more permission to do the same, to have work like that.

Workload, Support, And Real Breaks

SPEAKER_00 21:11

I I think that's great. I really commend the leadership at your school. So if you were to explain the process of applying for an international teaching experience, what would you suggest? So if somebody listening says, Oh, wow, like I would love to go to a foreign country and do something like Kelly, how would they even begin to think about this?

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Yeah, I'd I'd love to share what I've learned from my experience. And it could vary depending on the stages of where people are. But before looking at websites and like searching for job fairs, you really have to kind of start with mindset. So if I were to give advice to anyone considering this path, the first thing I'd say is like just be open to being different and be open to trying something a little bit scary, going out of your comfort zone. It kind of feels like throughout our lives we're bombarded with mess messages about what we're supposed to do. Go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, settle down somewhere, but moving somewhere. More internationally kind of disrupts that a little.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Oh, for sure.

Ski Week And Community Building

SPEAKER_01 22:21

So you have to look inward and ask yourself, like, what do I actually want? So just try not to limit yourself based on other people's expectations and just have a little bit of an introspective moment before taking the leap. But once you decide, like it's for you, for undergraduates, I would recommend looking for an international student teaching program at your university if there is one. Otherwise, try to find a study abroad opportunity so that you can at least go to a new country, be immersed in new culture, and just feel what that is like. And if you're already in the profession, you're already a teacher and you're curious about where what resources there are out there, search Search Associates or TES, which I'll share both with you, Lori, to put in the Okay, we could put those in the notes. Yeah, they're employment websites that can be a fantastic resource for finding international jobs. So you can literally put in the region of the world that you want to look for a job, and it will populate pretty much any of the job openings at international schools. And then you can also search for job fairs because I know international teaching job fairs happen about twice a year.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

But you might have to be willing to travel to those places. Usually they're in like big cities.

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

And then my last suggestion would just be to dream big and just be a yes person if you can be. Like say yes to opportunities that feel scary because they're usually the ones that pave the way to the best experiences. And then I also have to say, like, if you have a partner, or even as you're considering a partner, a really key ingredient to making a leap like this is to having someone fully aligned with the vision that you have. So when I moved to Mexico City at 22, that was just on me as I was single. But Switzerland, that had to be like a true team effort. So that's really the only way a move of this scale works when you're both pulling in the same direction. So I just feel so fortunate that Michael was so supportive with my career growth. And he didn't just agree to move, he like championed the idea because he knew how much the role meant to me. But then he also for himself envisioned his own work and the growth that could potentially happen there. So it's yeah, those are other considerations kind of behind the scenes that should be priority.

Breaks, Boundaries, And Unwinding

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Right. And I feel like now with a lot of jobs being fully remote, that's one advantage that Michael has for his present job, that he has the ability to, I know it might be more complicated than I'm making this out to be, but that he's able to work that out as well. Because that that is a factor, you know, with a couple or a family having to both, if you want both incomes, that's definitely something that has to be arranged.

SPEAKER_01 25:25

Yeah. And depending on where it is you plan to move in the world, you might not need two incomes right away. But yeah, it can kind of depend on each person's circumstances.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

Well, I still think it's a wonderful adventure, and it's very exciting, and it seems like you're thriving. So we are winding down, and as you know, Wellness for Educators is a podcast that attempts to promote wellness. So personally, how do you take? I know you're a runner, a very long distance good runner, but what other things do you do personally to take care of your own wellness?

How To Start Teaching Internationally

SPEAKER_01 26:10

Yeah, so I feel like since moving, I've learned to rest better than I've ever learned to rest before. Wow. I I used to feel like I had to earn my rest or work hard enough or run long enough to take a break and sit on the couch and read a book, but I just have kind of embraced more of that, along with obviously my running and my training. So I make movement a non-negotiable part of my day. Having a dog helps with that, having no car helps with that as I bike to and from school and walk to the grocery store. And, you know, as you experience, it's just kind of like the European lifestyle. Right. So that's absolutely something that is always a part of my routine. I love cooking at home and just focusing on balanced and nourishing foods and sharing that with Michael. And I think just also I've kind of taken in this philosophy of just noticing things and noticing tiny little moments every day that can make you smile or make you feel gratitude. So I kind of just all of those things combined help with my wellness and having a lovely social network here as well. Being surrounded by good people with similar interests and values, kind of all collectively help. But we're all works in progress. And I feel lucky, lucky to be in a season of my life where I can make time for those things that matter and and kind of balancing that is always something I'm trying to navigate.

SPEAKER_00 27:49

Wow. That's that's excellent advice. I think there's so much to gratitude. I I just think that when we focus on gratitude, and actually, one of my first episodes, I talk about playing iSpy. You see people looking at their phones all the time. And sometimes it's just you need to look around, you need to put your phone down, and there's so much to see and observe. And I think people are missing things, sadly. So we are wrapping this up, but any additional comments you think the listeners might find beneficial just about wellness or about an international experience, anything that you want to add or want the teachers to know that that that you feel free to tell us.

Mindset, Job Fairs, And Saying Yes

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Yeah, I I would love to share the C learning curriculum uh with all the listeners, because even if you take just a few activities from it, it could be impactful. And even if I I kind of feel like I'm, I don't know, like living in this dream world of having a solid principle that everyone loves and adores and believes in well-being. But even if you don't have the support of leadership or you are finding like you just are navigating in a smaller little circumstance, try to find your department that wants to take on a few of these practices or try to find a few teachers and then maybe try to build bigger because it's not probably as common to have full-on well-being as a priority. So yeah, the C learning I'll I'll share with you, Lori, and Okay, I'll put that on the all the other websites for international teaching as well. Yeah, so I just hope this can inspire someone, anyone to dream big and followed, you know, the path that they're maybe curious about. Then I'm happy to share my contact information as well because I'd love to mentor anyone who's looking to do it as well.

SPEAKER_00 29:54

Well, I think that'd be great. They could maybe email you and ask you a question. So that's that's really kind of you that you'd be willing to do that. So I just thank you so much for your time. I am so appreciative. I know that you have an upcoming week off, which I am excited for you to experience. And I do think that these holidays and times away from school really do help rejuvenate us. And I I thank you so much for the time that you've given today. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Thank you, Lori. And you and Kevin are welcome back to Basel anytime.

Personal Wellness: Rest, Movement, Gratitude

SPEAKER_00 30:31

Well, we would give that that we would love that. We'll cross paths somewhere in the world. I hope so. I hope so. So it has been wonderful to see Kelly today and have this conversation. I feel grateful that our paths have crossed. Kelly is a true inspiration for sure. I hope you have found the conversation inspiring. I realize not everyone wants to travel and teach in other nations, but there are opportunities you can have locally. Your class can become pen pals with other classes in different states and countries. You can have your class collect postcards from various countries and track the cards on a map of the world. There are many ways to learn about other cultures, even if you want to remain in your present home. My husband and I love to travel and visit new places. It certainly has enriched our lives. In fact, we have just returned from a trip to Australia and New Zealand, and I cannot say enough good things. It has exceeded our expectations. Not only the places we visited, but we were able to meet so many fabulous people. Well, I love quotes, and there's a gas station that we often stop when we're visiting my daughter, and there are two signs in the entryway. The one says, travel, the only thing you buy that makes you richer. And I really love this because experiencing new and different places and meeting people along the way really does make you richer. The second sign says, adventure is in my soul. Well, adventure is certainly in Kelly's soul, and it is actually in my soul as well. So I hope you find some adventure in your world. I don't think you will regret it. Until next time, please remember I am here cheering for you. Thanks to Ron Coleman for providing the music, and thanks to you for being a positive influence to the future generation. You are a true hero. You need to be well, to teach well, find joy in the journey. This is Lori Maxfield, and I thank you for listening to Wellness for Educators.