New Spanish teacher John Stangel planned to go to Indiana University for pre-med when his career path took a dramatic turn: he excelled in Spanish and got the chance to travel abroad.The Department of State gave him a scholarship while he was in college to study in Spain, and he continued the travel on his own and tutor in Peru, which was when he realized he wanted to teach. Stangel then studied to receive his undergraduate in linguistics.

“I loved tutoring, and it was a lot of fun helping people learn English, helping people with their Spanish grammar,” he said of his experiences abroad.

Currently, Stangel is enrolled in a distance learning program at IU to receive a Master’s Degree in education. The setup of the class is similar to that of a typical online class; he moves at his own pace and is able to continue teaching as he moves toward his degree.

Although he has been allotted 7 years for his studies, Stangel expects to complete the program and officially graduate in 2014. He is able to balance the classwork with his job teaching regular Spanish one and two. The unconventional class setup allows Stangel to reside in Fishers, which he believes is beneficial to his learning.

“I don’t think I could do this in Bloomington, that’s why I’m lucky to be here, it lets me focus on what’s important,” he said.