Alison Goldstein, PCC, CPC
TRANSITION EXPERIENCE
I have lived, worked and studied as an expat in over a half dozen countries including Greece, Spain, U.K., Afghanistan and several countries in the Middle East and the Caucasus Region. I have moved over 23 times and counting in my adult life and recently returned from traveling around the world for a year with my husband and two kids. I speak six languages and have over 18 years of experience living overseas in a variety of capacities. I’ve moved for work, love, education, and a sense of fulfillment. I choose this lifestyle because it gives me a sense of excitement; each day is packed with adventure, variety and endless opportunities to learn and grow. I’ve transitioned careers more than a handful of times (to include Engineer, Project Manager, English Instructor, Political and Economic Analyst for U.S. Federal Government, and now Transition/Leadership Coach), as I have discovered that I truly value continuous learning and I thrive on change.
GROWING UP
Despite the fact that I now live as a global nomad, I wasn’t raised in this manner. I was born in the U.S. and was brought up by two loving parents who were both hard-of-hearing. I grew up in an amazing cross-cultural environment, straddling between two worlds: the deaf and the hearing. Without a doubt, my family had our fair share of confusion and mishaps, like everyone’s family. Sometimes these mix-ups had to do with hearing and language and other times it had to do with cultural differences. We learned to add humor to these situations to diffuse tension. This upbringing colored how I viewed the world.
EDUCATION AND CAREER
I graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. This included one year abroad at the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology. I was the only foreigner in my classes, which were taught in a language I didn’t really know. While there, I worked as a cleaning lady for my professors to pay for my living expenses. It was an exciting, challenging and a humbling time for me, a real test of my character. There I learned the value of speaking the local language.
After graduating from college, I moved to Southern California where I was hired by Boeing’s Rocketdyne Division in Space and Communications as a Systems Engineer on the Atlas and Delta Rocket Engines. At the same time I earned my Private Pilot’s License. After realizing that I didn’t want to become a professional pilot and that Engineering wasn’t fully satisfying to me, I explored other areas. As my engineering skills were transferable, I took a job as a Project Manager in an Architecture firm working on industrial projects. Once I paid off my student loans, I quit my job and moved to Spain, where I learned Spanish and taught English to business executives. At the time, I thought that if I went abroad once more, I could shake my itchy feet and finally be just like everyone else. I was wrong.
I returned to the States and took a job as a Systems Engineer for ARINC so that I could retool and find a career that would take me overseas. I was responsible for coordinating with the U.S. Government (Air force) to integrate civilian requirements for the Global Positioning System (GPS). I then transitioned careers entirely and secured a job working as a Political and Economic Analyst for the U.S. Federal Government to advance U.S. policy goals in areas such as democratization, crisis management, women’s rights, and tribal/ethnic related issues. This position required me to live overseas and move on a regular basis. I gained experience working in the Middle East and the Caucasus region including complex and dangerous environments. I also had the opportunity to work with people of all cultures and learn various languages.
After more than decade, I decided to take a career break and refocus my life. I moved to London for love and got married shortly thereafter. I now have a son and daughter, both of whom are bi-lingual. My husband, like me, also wanted to explore the world and live a life overseas. We now live in Athens, Greece and I’ve transitioned careers once again to become a Transition and Leadership Coach. I am a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) by the International Coach Federation (ICF) having earned my coaching credentials from iPEC.
Why I became a Coach
Being raised by two deaf parents afforded me unique talents. I have a natural tendency to view challenges as opportunities. I see people not for what they lack or for their disabilities, but as differently abled people, recognizing their abilities. I learned early on in life that “normal,” doesn’t exist and often times, comparing myself to others didn’t serve me. We are all different and we all belong. I’m able to see the beauty in diversity and actually walk the talk in this arena. These qualities all strengthened my ability to coach, to provide a non-judgemental and safe environment for my clients to explore their concerns and identify what’s getting in their way.
After years of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, to be like everyone else, I realized how much better life flowed when I focused on my talents and not my differences from what was considered ‘normal.’ My ability to be self-reliant, adaptable and focused, my reputation for meeting challenging organizational goals and objectives and how I thrived on change, could ALL serve me in a way that could support me rather than hinder me.
Why A Focus on People Living Overseas?
Each time I moved, I designed a new plan to balance the parts of who I was, who I am and who I’d like to be, according to my own requirements in order to maintain my identity. Sometimes it was conscious, sometimes unconscious. Sometimes it was easy and other times it was hard. Doing this has allowed me to live a fulfilling, rewarding and satisfying life overseas.
In the process of living overseas, I’ve gotten to know many expats, international assignees and their accompanying spouses. I understand their unique challenges all too well. I can empathize with the single expat woman who wonders if in pursuing her career, she’s giving up a future that may include a spouse and/or children. I understand the confusing feelings and challenges relating to being a parent and having a career overseas. I know what it’s like to live in a complex and dangerous environment. I have experienced first-hand what it’s like to live in a country without the larger support network I would have if living in my home country or without the inbuilt assistance provided by an employer. I have lived as a single expat woman, an international assignee, an expat accompanying spouse and as an expat parent whose spouse works in a different country than where we live.
Because the overseas lifestyle is often considered a “privileged” existence, it’s understandable that people living overseas can find it difficult to voice their frustrations out-loud, grieve about what they feel they’ve lost or be open about the fact that they may be experiencing difficulties. I believe we all deserve the opportunity to live a rewarding life, regardless of where we choose to live.