One of Extension's Rising Stars

Craig Vitamanti

Craig Vitamanti abandoned his teenage dream to live in distant lands long ago. The sacrifice seemed a small price to pay for the years Craig spent building a stable and secure life.

The Barstow, California native had earned three college degrees – a B.A. from the University of California, Riverside, a second B.A. from San Francisco State University, and an M.A. from John F. Kennedy University in Washington, D.C. He got married, became a teacher and held classes at various zoos and museums.

"I always wanted to be a traveler, but I kept getting drilled with responsibilities," Craig said. "I kept putting (the dream) on the back burner."

At 43, Craig was teaching dinosaur biology at the American Museum of Natural Science in New York City. He was living with his partner in a fabulous Manhattan apartment complete with a view.

Then Craig's life exploded.

Seemingly overnight, Craig's relationship had slipped away. The job and apartment soon followed. Broken-hearted and disillusioned, Craig returned home to his parents in Riverside. The responsibilities that had kept him on American soil were gone.

"One day, I decided to become a foreigner myself," Craig said.

However, he wanted to be an employed globetrotter. The UCR alumnus knew right where to go. In August of 1999, Craig signed up for the Teaching English as a Second Language certificate program, offered through Extension's International Education Programs (IEP).

"The TESOL certificate program is as good as many master's programs," Craig said. "Often I am surrounded by people with master's who know a lot more than I do, but they don't have the grounding in the classroom, the actual practical application of theory. Theory is great, but as a teacher, I need to know how to solve problems in the classroom and how to help students achieve their goals: in my case, to speak English well. IEP's program gave me a lot of practical, hands-on ideas and experience. It was a great program for me."

Craig excelled in the TESOL program. One year later, UCR Extension awarded Craig his TESOL certificate. Then, UCR Extension offered Craig a job. Within a week of the offer, Craig was on board a plane heading to Khon Kaen, Thailand to teach English.

Over the past seven years, Craig has also taught for universities in Mongolia and Mexico. Last year, Craig returned to UCR Extension to teach English to students at IEP's newest overseas education center, the UCR-Beijing International Education Center, in Beijing, China.

"I am grateful for UCR Extension," Craig said. "Currently, my dream would be to go back to Extension for a year and earn two other certificates that would help me immensely with my work: a certificate as a Reading Specialist for teenagers and adults, and a certificate in Multiple Intelligences. If Extension offered those classes online, I would be one of the first to sign up."