Dr. Jean Orr teaches Malaysian college students counseling skills

September 17, 2009
Contact: Paul K. Logsdon, Director of Public Relations and Publications (417) 865-2815, ext. 7292

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Dr. Jean Orr, associate professor of psychology at Evangel, traveled to the Bible College of Malaysia in Petaling Jaya, this summer, where she taught a weeklong class on basic counseling skills.

When Orr received an e-mail notifying her of the teaching opportunity, she decided it would be a great experience. “I always wanted to go overseas to teach, and since I already teach counseling skills in undergraduate and graduate courses at Evangel, I was prepared for the trip,” Orr said.

Her class of 43 undergraduate and graduate students consisted of Indian Malaysians, Chinese Malaysians, Cambodians, and Nigerians.

“Malaysia is a very diverse country, and the people there speak many different languages; however, Malay is the official language,” Orr said. “The college offers classes in English and in Mandarin, but this course was only in English.”

Orr was unsure how the students would react to her as a teacher because she was a woman from the U.S., but she was well-received by the classmates. “It was kind of amazing how much respect they had for me as a teacher there because I had my doctorate,” she said. “It was interesting that we didn’t meet anyone in Malaysia that was from the U.S. while we were there.”

Orr’s mother, Carol Padgett, accompanied her on the trip.