TESOL International Association has influenced my professional development since I started this wonderful journey of teaching 17 years ago. During my first year of teaching a friend of mine recommended I join my local affiliate, ACPI (Asociacion Costarricense de Profesores de Ingles for its acronym in Spanish) at http://www.acpi-tesol.com/ in my home country Costa Rica and since that moment I have become engaged with the wonderful world of teaching in a broader context. TESOL has helped me in my personal growth, provided me with innovative ways of teaching, given me the chance to attend national and international conferences, given me the opportunity to publish and inspired me to pursue a Ph.D.

In my early years of teaching, my participation in ACPI events provided me with lots of useful resources, teaching tips, and creative ways of teaching. Even my colleagues at work considered me an innovative teacher thanks to the magazines, articles, and materials about ELT that I received from my local association and shared with them. Putting these new ideas into practice helped me grow and become a more experienced facilitator of learning. This collegiality strengthened my professional self-esteem so that I was able to become a university professor at a relatively young age.

Participating in national conferences in my country prepared me to take the next step in my professional life. Listening to many local and international TESOL presenters inspired me to become a presenter, a teacher trainer, a motivator, a TESOLer. To my surprise, I had the opportunity to share a presentation in my country and also overseas in the same year. As a speaker, I have had the marvelous opportunity of participating in TESOL affiliate events in Costa Rica, Honduras, Puerto Rico, and Bolivia.

In 2018, I went to Honduras for the HELTA TESOL conference and met a group of beautiful people - the presenters from the Central American and Caribbean Basin (CA&CB) TESOL Affiliates Regional Group who were working towards the integration of a Latin America TESOL group. They have become close friends that have challenged me to participate in more conferences every year, to publish, to give a live webinar streamed worldwide, and to continue with my professional growth. Now , I’m enrolled in a Ph.D. program in education with the primary purpose of becoming prepared to share my learning with new TESOLers and ELT teachers that already belong to this amazing and expanding community of professionals. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the opportunity to attend an International TESOL convention, but I hope to be able to do so in the near future.

Being an international presenter at regional TESOL affiliate events and representing my local association of English teachers, my university and my beloved country make me grateful to the big TESOL International Association family around the world and push me to invite more teachers to become affiliate members and why not, an international speaker. TESOL International Association and its Affiliate Network provide these wonderful experiences and much more. Thank you.

MSc. Carlos Mayorga Gutiérrez lives in Costa Rica and is an ACPI TESOL member. He has been teaching at Universidad Latina de Costa Rica for fifteen years and has attended multiple local and international TESOL conventions. He is a technophile and is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Education and Research.