Changing Gears' “Midwest Migration” project is featuring the stories of former Midwesterners – people who have left region since the recession of 2008.
Name: Ryan Brevard
Midwest Home: Kalamazoo, MI
New Home: Mexico City, Mexico
When I graduated college the unemployment rate in Michigan was the highest in the country. I sent out over 150 resumes to all 50 states. Over half were sent to schools in Michigan. This resulted in 5 interviews. Only 2 of those were in person. Only one was in Michigan.
Not being able to find a teaching job, I came across AmeriCorps and was hired to serve with the American Red Cross. After completing two years of service I promised myself I would go on a trip abroad. It was something I had never done before.
I decided that I did not want to spend the little money I had saved from my poverty level income on sipping cocktails on a tropical island. I wanted to have a productive vacation.
So I signed up with an organization that recruits volunteers to teach English to Palestinian refugees. I spent a month living in a refugee camp where electricity was sporadic and fresh, running water nonexistent. It changed my life. It motivated me to continue teaching and traveling abroad.
Currently, I teach second grade English and Health at Instituto Thomas Jefferson in Mexico City. I know I’m not the only individual from the AmeriCorps program in Michigan who has gone on to work internationally instead of in the Midwest or even in the United States. I still would love nothing more than to move back to Michigan, Detroit specifically, to be a part of the rebuilding and revitalization that is taking place as we speak.
Read more Midwest Migration stories on our dedicated page. If you or someone you know has left the Midwest add your own story.
