Meet the New Teacher – Karel De Cock – Secondary Careers and Universities Counsellor
Introducing our new Careers and Universities Counsellor Karl De Cock.
Karel was born in New York before moving to Taiwan at the age of nine and then Belgium for fours before returning to the US to live in Maryland where he graduated from high school. He received his undergraduate degree in Organizational Psychology from Vesalius College (Boston University), and his Master’s in Educational Counselling from Bristol University. He has spent 15 years counselling families in Singapore, Shanghai, Chiang Mai and Brussels.
“I am here with my wife Naambo and two boys, Dominic and Esaiah who will both be going to school here. My family and I are not new to life in Asia or being expats. On and off, I’ve lived in Asia for 18 years. Our children were born in Shanghai, lived in Singapore and we now call Bangkok home. Relocating, speaking different languages and being immersed in different cultures is the norm for us. We value family, community and are blessed with the ability to make any location feel like home.
I enjoy being active; playing basketball, football, weight training and a variety of other sports. I perform stand-up comedy as well as improv comedy and hope to participate in the Bangkok scene. I write children’s stories and hope to publish this year. My wife is an amazing drawer and, hopefully, she will be able to do the artwork for the book. I believe it’s important for everyone to have a creative outlet and step outside their comfort zone. I have been teaching myself how to DJ and have learned a great deal about myself through that process. So, I like to mix things up!
As a third culture kid, I want to speak to children about that transition and adjustment. To use my life lessons as examples of how to handle the issues and questions that arise from relocating. I apply my personal relocation and international experience when counselling students to help locate institutions that are the best fit for them.
I had never been here before but one thing I like is that even though it is a big campus, the dedicated spaces and buildings make it feel manageable. I love that there is so much open space, greenery and natural light. It is a very open campus, you can see things happening in different buildings and classrooms around the school, creating a collaborative and inclusive culture. You may not be involved in every activity but are aware of what is going on.”
Learn about all our new teachers here: https://www.patana.ac.th/new-teachers-2019-20/
