Paying it Forward

We recently sat down with Jorge Hurtado, a long-time teacher at Intercambio, to learn more about him and why he enjoys teaching. 

“My name is Jorge. I’m originally from Colombia. I was introduced to Intercambio in 2014 and started teaching immediately.

I really love Intercambio. It reminds me of when I came to the U.S., I was in the same shoes as the students back in 1981. It reminds me of Mary Warrington. She was a very nice lady. She used to come to my home to teach me English.

When I learned about Intercambio, it resonated with me. I thought about Mary and how she was so kind in trying to teach me. She was the first one that really took my fear out of making mistakes. She said that’s how you learn. And now I use that with my students: It’s okay, we’re going to make mistakes. I still make mistakes, and I’ve been in this country for 40+ years.

I still have a very tight connection with some of my students from years ago. As a matter of fact, one of them is working where I work. She’s doing great, and she’s a great engineer now.

I always talk about Intercambio to others. This really nice organization not only teaches English, but their focus is also to get people that are new in the country — afraid, isolated — to make a connection and get to know this country a little better.”

“Teaching is kind of paying it
forward, that’s how I started. I really
love it. I never thought that I was
going to be a teacher or that I like to
teach, but actually I love it.”

– Jorge Hurtado, CC English Teacher

Interested in paying it forward like Jorge?