At the age of 49, Mike Podgorski is older than the average US teaching assistant in the USTA Program. As his time in the program drew to a close, we sat down with Mike to talk about his motivation for applying to teach English in Austrian secondary schools and how his age had benefited him in the classroom.

00:00 Intro
00:27 What motivated you to apply to the USTA Program at this stage in your life?
01:47 Which of your previous professional experiences have been the most beneficial in the classroom?
02:59 What are some advantages and disadvantages of your age in the context of the classroom?
03:58 Why would you recommend this program to someone looking to make a life/career change?
05:00 What have been the easiest/most difficult parts of integrating into life in Vienna?
06:05 In what ways have you observed your experience as a USTA being different from that of your younger peers in the program?
06:35 Tell us about the school you were assigned to and your experience teaching in that particular environment.
08:02 What comes next for you?
09:01 What advice would you give to future applicants and program participants?
09:44 Outro

Check out these links to learn more about the school where Mike taught, das Technologische Gewerbemuseum (TGM), also known as die Schule der Technik:
video 1 from TGM
video 2 from TGM