For Elizabeth Hoffman, becoming a teacher wasn’t always a straight path to the classroom. Her journey took her from teaching English in Brazil to a leadership role in the corporate world and ultimately into a Virginia public school classroom.
During college, Elizabeth traveled to Brazil to teach English as a second language for a summer. That experience became the first spark that led her toward a career in education.
“I saw firsthand how education, specifically learning English, could be the literal difference between someone earning a livable wage or not,” Elizabeth said. “It wasn’t just a school subject; it was a life-altering tool for those students.”
After graduating, Elizabeth entered the corporate world and eventually became a Finance and Administration Director at Job Corps. While working there, she noticed a significant gap in students’ financial literacy and language skills. She stepped in to teach weekly financial literacy and Spanish classes, which quickly became the best part of her week.
That experience helped Elizabeth realize she wanted to make a career change to teaching.
“I wanted to take my corporate knowledge and use it to help students learn crucial information that they will need in the future,” she said.
Bringing Real-World Experience into the Classroom
The 2025–2026 school year was Elizabeth’s first year as a certified, full-time public school teacher, but it was not her first experience teaching. She has taught English online to international students for close to 10 years and taught Spanish and financial literacy during her five years at Job Corps.
Entering the classroom on a provisional license allowed Elizabeth to connect her professional background with her love for education.
Today, she draws from her experience in business, geography and finance to create lessons based on situations her students may encounter in their own lives. Her students participate in scripted negotiations with car salespeople, walk through what to do after a car accident, practice reading police reports and filing claims, and analyze benefits packages to learn how to select health insurance and other employer-offered benefits.
“My favorite part is bringing the ‘real world’ into the classroom and watching the immediate impact it has on students’ lives,” Elizabeth said. “Because of my background in business, geography, and finance, I don’t just teach out of a textbook. I love crafting immersive case studies and real-life scenarios.”
For Elizabeth, some of the most memorable moments happen when students return to share how they have used those lessons outside the classroom.
“I’ve had several students come back to my room and proudly tell me they used our classroom car-negotiation strategies to buy their very first used car, or that they opened up an investment account to start saving for college,” she said.
Her lessons also prepare students for future decisions involving renting or buying a home and understanding retirement accounts.
“Knowing that a lesson I designed provided an immediate benefit and created life long positive financial habits is really rewarding to me,” Elizabeth said.
Helping Other Career-Switchers Become Teachers
Because Elizabeth took an unconventional route into education, she is passionate about alternative pathways to teaching.
She is currently helping create a connection between iteach and Smyth County Schools. Her goal is to streamline the teacher licensure process for other industry professionals who are interested in bringing their experience into the classroom.
“I firmly believe that classrooms thrive when educators bring diverse, real-world professional experience to the table, and I want to make it easier for other career-switcher teachers to find their footing,” she said.
Elizabeth was selected as one of K12 Coalition’s Teacher Appreciation Week winners. As a new school year begins, her story shows the valuable knowledge and experience career-switchers can bring to their students and school communities.
It is also a reminder for anyone considering a career change to teaching: Your path to the classroom may look different, but the experience you have already gained can become a meaningful part of how you teach.
Supporting the Journey to Becoming a Teacher
K12 Coalition supports educators throughout their careers, from taking the first step toward teacher certification to continuing their professional growth in the classroom.
iteach provides an alternative pathway to teacher certification for aspiring educators, including professionals who want to transition into teaching from another field. Passage Preparation offers test preparation for educators working toward certification, while Teaching Channel provides professional learning for teachers throughout their careers.
Together, K12 Coalition’s family of education brands helps recruit, prepare and support educators as they enter the classroom and continue developing their practice.
Elizabeth’s journey demonstrates what can happen when professional experience and a passion for education come together. By giving her students practical knowledge they can use in their own lives and helping other career-switchers explore teaching, she is making an impact that reaches well beyond her classroom.
