I did not grow up belonging to one place.
I was born into a mix of Spanish and French-Moroccan heritage, raised in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, educated in international schools, and currently teach in China. At home, we spoke French and Spanish. At school, I learned English and Arabic. Somewhere in between cultures, languages, and systems, I began to understand what it means to live between worlds.
Only later, during my bachelor’s degree in Education, did I learn there was a name for students like me: Third Culture Kids (TCKs).
As an educator in an international school, I now teach students who are navigating similar complexities; they may have multiple passports, layered identities, and shifting definitions of “home.” They are globally aware, adaptable, and culturally agile. But they are also quietly carrying transitions, loss, and the cognitive load of constantly adjusting.
My doctoral journey at Acacia University has helped me see this through a leadership lens.
Transformative leadership, for me, is not about position or title. It is about building systems that recognize the whole child, especially in globally mobile communities. It is about asking: Who are our structures designed for? Whose identities are centered? Whose transitions are supported?
Through my internship experiences, I’ve worked closely on curriculum design, advisory systems, and collaborative professional learning. I’ve seen firsthand how intentional structures can create belonging or unintentionally overlook it. In international schools, especially, students’ executive functioning, social-emotional needs, and identity development are deeply intertwined with their mobility experiences.
As someone who never fully identified with one country, I understand what it feels like to answer the question, “Where are you from?” with hesitation.
That lived experience shapes how I lead.
It influences how I build advisory curricula that prioritize connection before compliance. It informs how I approach mentoring conversations with empathy and curiosity. It guides how I think about sustainable leadership, not as a personal achievement, but as a collective responsibility to create environments where students can feel rooted even when they are globally mobile.
My doctoral studies have not distanced me from the classroom; they have deepened my understanding of it. They have given language to experiences I once only felt. They have challenged me to think systemically while remaining relational. Most importantly, they have affirmed that leadership in international education must be culturally responsive, psychologically aware, and future-focused.
For students growing up between worlds, schools often become the most stable place in their lives. As leaders and educators, that is both a privilege and a responsibility.
If my journey has taught me anything, it is this: belonging does not happen by accident. It is designed.
And transformative leadership begins when we choose to design it intentionally
