Move over, traditional career guides. For the next generation navigating a world of limitless career possibilities, the well-meaning advice to “follow your passion” can feel overwhelming without a map. Now, a wave of adults with truly fascinating jobs is throwing that map wide open. They’re stepping out of their labs, studios, and field sites to share the real, unfiltered career advice they wish they’d had – not just about how to land the job, but how to build a life of curiosity, resilience, and purpose. This is more than career day; it’s a mentorship movement designed to inspire the innovators, problem-solvers, and dreamers of tomorrow.
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Me with grade 12 economics students last year
What’s your name, and give us the Elevator Pitch about your job.
My name is Ellie.
By day, I teach high school IB Economics and IB Spanish, and I’m the Head of Grade 9 at an international school. In my Economics classes, I encourage students to be ethical consumers and consider how their decisions impact themselves and our communities. With my Spanish students, I encourage them to connect with cultures that are different than their own, which helps them see the world through a different lens. I also manage a team of 18 teachers and provide guidance and behavior support to 106 9th-grade students.
By night, I manage an animal rescue organization and dedicate my free time to saving animals, getting them medical treatment, finding them forever homes, and empowering first-time rescuers to save stray animals.
I find that there are common threads between my teaching and rescuing: identifying problems and brainstorming solutions, being reflective about what’s going well and what could be done better, thinking about how our actions affect others, and the importance of playing an active role in our community.
Could you walk me through a typical day or week in your role? What are your primary responsibilities?
5:45am I wake up and walk my dogs through the hutongs, feed the dogs and cats, and clean their litterboxes
6:50am Leave for work
7:40am Start work (Fulfill Head of G9 duties + Teach various Spanish or Economics lessons based on the day)
10:30am Breaktime: Check in with fosters in their foster animals’ Wechat group to ask for content to use for social media, address any potential problems that might arise (i.e. New nervous foster dog chewed up a pillow while at work, a foster cat has no appetite and has been lethargic, a foster will be going on holiday soon, etc)
12:00pm Lunchtime: Eat + Respond to more WeChat messages and provide guidance to people who have found a stray animal outside
1:00-3:45pm Finish various Economics and Spanish lessons + handle any issues 9th-grade students or teachers may encounter
4:00pm Head home to walk the dogs, feed my dogs and cats, clean litterboxes
5:00pm Take a new rescue animal to the vet for a general health check or vaccinations
6:00pm Conduct interview phone calls for prospective fosters or adopters, Reach out to a local restaurant/bar to host our upcoming adoption event, Consult our team of trusted vets regarding symptoms a foster animal is experiencing
7:00pm Post Adoption posters on WeChat Moments and in our network group
7:30pm Send a list of adopted animals to our sponsor (Bauer’s Pet Cuisine), so they can send a congratulatory treat box full of products
8pm Create social media video content for our WeChat channel and Instagram, update adoption posters on Canva
What is the most rewarding or fulfilling part of your work? What problems do you get to solve? On the flip side, what are the most significant challenges or stressful aspects of your job?
The most fulfilling part is looking at a photo of an animal when they were initially rescued (usually sick, dirty, and afraid) and seeing the glow up they’ve experienced now that they’re in a safe foster home or adoptive home. They usually look like a completely different animal.
Some of our problems are on the smaller side, and some are on the more serious side:
Smaller problems we encounter regularly: A foster gives us very short notice that they cannot foster, so we need to quickly find somewhere for that animal to go. A foster dog is experiencing separation anxiety, and neighbors are complaining about barking. We rescue a feral cat in the middle of winter and have to make the decision to neuter and return them to the same community.
A few of the more stressful situations we’ve experienced: We had a foster animal go missing. We tirelessly looked for her, disseminated her poster, and offered a reward. She was luckily found by another local rescuer, but they refused to return her to us. We’ve had foster animals or adopted animals die in tragic ways. We had a newly rescued dog nip at a foster’s ayi, and she escalated the situation and got police involved, so we had to navigate that.
December 6, Furry Tales Charity Gala at the Regent, where we celebrated our 4 year anniversary and rescuing 318 animals
How did you get to where you are today? You can talk about your educational route, pivotal moments, unplanned detours, and any other decisions that you find important.
I was always interested in American politics and World Affairs, so when I found out about the International Relations major at St. Catherine University, which consists of history, economics, and political science courses, and also required me to study abroad and study a language, I found the perfect fit.
I spent my junior year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and thoroughly immersed myself in the language, took tango classes, and ate my weight in empanadas and dulce de leche. I intended to return to South America after I graduated, but as I was finishing up my senior year, I enrolled in an East Asian History course and became fascinated with what I was studying. My professor recommended an opportunity to become a teaching assistant for students studying International Relations at a university in Zhuhai, China, so I took it, and that started my journey in China.
Me in 2016 with my Chinese language teachers in Zhuhai during my internship
Growing up, my mom was very active in our community, which inspired me to get involved in middle and high school in the Student Council, organizing volunteer opportunities for myself and other students. We served breakfasts at a homeless shelter on weekends, collected toiletries and socks for women and children’s shelters, tutored students from inner city schools, and hosted baking classes at a nursing home. From those experiences, I saw how meaningful it was to try to make other peoples’ lives better, even if it was in a small way, and I know that’s what pushed me to start rescuing animals in Beijing.
I have found that my experience studying at a liberal arts university prepared me so well to teach at an IB school, because we encourage students to be globally minded, reflective, caring, principled, risk-taking, open-minded, balanced, etc. I hope to inspire my students inside the classroom with my academic lessons, but more importantly, through my own actions outside of school when it comes to community involvement. We all possess the ability to make the world a better place for every living creature – big or small.
Me giving a speech about my animal rescue group for the Beijing Women’s Network on Nov 15,2025
Knowing what you know now, if you could go back and give one piece of advice to your teenage self about work and life, what would it be?
Many of my students are currently overwhelmed by college applications and familial, cultural, and general teenage pressures. I would tell my students, based on my own experiences, that if something does not work out – you don’t get into your dream college or you don’t achieve the IB score you were after – that opportunity was not meant for you, and life continues. There is always something better that awaits you. You are allowed to feel sad and disappointed, but the most important thing is to keep moving forward.
If you’d like to help foster or adopt, get in touch with Ellie by WeChat at: ellie4034 or by scanning the QR code below.
Images: Ellie