‘I Needed to Be Where People Were’: How Frederick Imadonmwinyi Became a Teacher

Frederick Imadonmwinyi originally set out to be an electrical engineer, but by the time his undergraduate years were ending, he realized he didn’t have a passion for the profession.

“When I was done with my degree, I just knew I wasn’t going to really practice. I went [to work] for a few months and I was like, ‘No,’” Imadonmwinyi remembered. “I really am the kind of person that likes to impact others, but in the electrical field, it was just about you and cables. So, I needed to be where people were.” 

Plenty of careers offer more social interactions than working as an engineer, so Imadonmwinyi started considering which skills he already had that could transfer to other industries. 

“I never knew I was going to be a teacher, but I’ve always had this flair for helping my colleagues — helping them and other friends to understand their lessons — and I’ve always tried to always be there,” he said, “I realized that I’m very good in trying to impart knowledge, so I developed this flair and fun for teaching and then I started teaching [in] Nigeria.”

Imadonmwinyi’s engaging personality and knowledge of STEM subjects made him a natural fit to lead math classes, eventually taking him to Liberia to work with middle and high school students. After 5 years, though, he felt the need to grow and challenge himself. 

“I needed to move outside Africa and experience [different] ideas, but then I realized that being an engineer and also having a gift [for] teaching wasn’t enough. I needed the certification to be able to fit into the international [school] system,” Imadonmwinyi shared. “I got to meet with two academic coordinators that came to my school in Liberia, and they kept telling us about Moreland University — how you’re going to learn a lot about differentiation, about different math skills, and different ways to teach and impact knowledge — and then I decided to give it a try.”

Bridging the Gap with TEACH-NOW 

In January 2024, Imadonmwinyi began Moreland’s TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program, a fully online program that equips candidates with foundational instructional knowledge and teaching frameworks while readying them to earn a U.S. teaching license — a globally respected credential that is often the key to unlocking opportunities at international schools. 

“It was really fun and I learned a lot. Moreland really exposed me to a lot of information that I never knew,” he said. 

Faculty members like Catherine Taylor and Paul Magnuson, specifically, helped Imadonmwinyi “unpack” his natural talents for teaching and align them with educational concepts to enhance the learning experience in his classroom. 

“The instructors were really, really good and very simple,” Imadonmwinyi said, noting that they encouraged candidates to implement what they were learning in their TEACH-NOW modules with their own students to see how effective their newly acquired instructional methods could be in real-time. 

By the end of the program, Imadonmwinyi felt ready to teach with even more confidence than before. The 100% online format had also made it easy for him to keep up with coursework while making a move to Guyana for a new role in an international school that he found on the International Schools Services (ISS) platform.

“South America was where [job] prospects were really available and because the school…knew I was doing my certification course and they knew that I was going to finish, they really wanted me to come because it was an added advantage to have a teacher [leading] math who was also going to be certified soon,” he recalled.

A New Chapter in Guyana with a New Master’s Degree 

While he thought TEACH-NOW would be the end of his formal learning journey, Imadonmwinyi noticed that his colleagues at his new school were continuing to learn and develop their skills — and improving their careers along the way. 

Seeing this inspired Imadonmwinyi to commit to earning a Master’s Degree in Education (M.Ed.) from Moreland. It was just a matter of deciding which subject he wanted to make his specialization. Knowing he wanted something that would complement the math expertise he already had, Imadonmwinyi considered focusing on educational technology or globalization in education, but ultimately looked to his new surroundings for even more inspiration. 

“I realized that in the Caribbean, we have a lot of multinational [students] in this school. In my current school, we have like 45 nationalities here and some of them, especially the Spanish speaking students, were really struggling in class,” Imadonmwinyi shared. “I was wondering how I could support them because they were really smart in math but could not express themselves.”

Using this as his purpose, Imadonmwinyi decided to focus his M.Ed. coursework on teaching multilingual learners, earning the new credential in December 2025. 

By completing both his certification and his master’s degree within a two-year span, Imadonmwinyi equipped himself with specialized skills to help his students succeed for the rest of their lives.

Advice for Aspiring International Educators 

Reflecting on his journey, Imadonmwinyi noted the importance of being open-minded and willing to add new techniques to their practice in order to keep their classrooms engaging. 

“The more you learn, the more you get better in teaching,” he said. “If you keep doing the same tricks, it becomes boring. I realized that you have to learn new things to keep the flow going and keep the class fun.” 

In the spirit of always learning and always helping others, Imadonmwinyi has also referred several friends and colleagues to Moreland, helping them start their own journeys toward earning a U.S. teaching license. 

“I just want to tell everyone out there that education is accessible everywhere you want to go,” Imadonmwinyi emphasized. “If you want to take the next step and you want to go further, I think you have to consider Moreland University… I went through it and I could see how beneficial it is to me now. I’ve become a better teacher in the past two years than I’ve been in the last eight years.”

Imadonmwinyi has already been planning for the years ahead, too. 

“When I was done [with the M.Ed.], I sat down with my wife, and I was like, ‘I can’t imagine that in two years, I’m done with my certification and my masters,” he said, “and it looks so fun, so I reached out to Moreland and I asked them, ‘When are you going to start the EdD (doctor of education) program? Because I’m ready to go for it again.” 

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Are you an aspiring educator ready to start your teaching career, or a current teacher ready to advance? Learn more about how Moreland University can support you with our 100% online 9-month TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program and 12-month master’s degree programs today. It takes less than 15 minutes to complete your free application!