Ruby Fich

English Teaching Assistant at BRG/BORG St. Pölten

My name is Ruby Rich. For the past year, I have been working as an English Teaching Assistant at the BRG/BORG St. Pölten. As a native speaker, I make interactive lessons with the goal of helping the students to become more comfortable and confident speaking English.

In my own life, language learning has opened up so many opportunities. When I was 17, I moved from the United States to Germany as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program. During that year, I attended a local Gymnasium and learned German through everyday life. Little did I know that my experience in Germany would spark a lifelong interest in language and connecting with other cultures.

After my exchange year, I wanted to keep exploring the world. So, I moved to China for my undergraduate studies at New York University Shanghai, where I studied Social Science and worked as an English tutor. After graduating, to continue improving my German and gain more teaching experience, I came to Austria through Fulbright as an English Teaching Assistant. I have been here for the past two years, working as a TA and doing my master’s degree in Demography at the University of Vienna.

So far, I love living in Austria, from trying new foods like Kaiserschmarrn and Bärlauch, to traveling around the country with the Klimaticket and high-speed rail. I strongly believe the US has so much to learn from Austrian healthcare, public transportation, and education.

When I think about my time at the BORG, I will fondly remember the classes. We played games like “Jeopardy” and “Mafia,” shared music and poems and different cultural perspectives. Overall, I am very grateful for how open and curious the students have been, and for the opportunity to be part of the school in St. Pölten. I hope that my time here has encouraged students to be curious about other cultures and approach differences with empathy and a desire for mutual understanding.