About IFYE
IFYE Board Member - Jessica Braxton
Jessica Braxton was a IFYE from Virginia to Finland in late 2014. She lived with four families during her program and still keeps in contact with three families regularly. While living in Finland, she focused heavily on community and youth development, often spending time in classrooms, in after school programs, at community youth events, and as a guest lecturer at several universities.
Jessica studied elementary education for her undergraduate studies. She has recently taught primary school in Shanghai, China. Braxton is planning to continue living and teaching internationally. Her vision and understanding of being a global citizen had merely awakened when she became an IFYE, but now Jessica is passionate about being an active global citizen and encouraging others to make such pursuits.
“Life as an IFYE really helped me become passionate about international youth development. I can only hope that, whilst teaching in international classrooms, I am inspiring my students to get out of their comfort zone and to be active global citizens in the future.”
When Jessica is not teaching, she does volunteer work in summer camps and on missions trips. By 2023, Jessica plans to have completed her graduate studies in sports administration and transition out of the classroom into another role in youth development.
