NDT I’m a teacher-turned-entrepreneur based in Prague, Czech Republic. My entrepreneurial journey started 20+ years ago when I realized the opportunity to use my extensive English language teaching skills to co-create a successful Onsite TEFL/TESOL certification program in Prague. Six years ago, I created an Online TEFL/TESOL certification program – a successful program I still manage and market today.
NDT I was born in Shoreham-by-Sea and raised in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England. Littlehampton is a coastal town, and I have never lost my love for the sea and what it represents. I was educated at St Philip Howard Catholic School – an Ofsted-rated ‘outstanding’ secondary school – before attending Westminster College in Oxford, where I read Philosophy and Theology. After university, I spent a combined year living in Bognor Regis and Brighton and then leaving England for a life of adventure and travel.
NDT My first big trip abroad was to Greece, where I island hopped until I ran out of money in Santorini and had to wait tables for food and drink and the all-important ferry ticket back to Athens – a temporary job as night receptionist awaited me there. When I arrived in Haifa, Israel, a few weeks later, I had spent the last of my money and had to bunk the train to Tel Aviv and promise the Dizengoff Hostel that I would pay them the following day for the night’s accommodation. I got a construction job the next day, paid for the hostel, and spent the next three months working in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and traveling around Israel and Egypt. This trip taught me to be resilient and resourceful – it was an invaluable schooling that I could later draw on when starting my businesses.
NDT When I first arrived in Prague, I immediately fell in love with the city, and Prague soon became my home. I taught English for a few language schools – for a time, I was the highest-paid English teacher in Prague – and then co-created a language school. It was a successful endeavor, and I loved the creative side of business marketing. It also meant that I now had the funds and time to travel regularly, and I took full advantage, traveling the world.
NDT The one consistent in my life, besides business and world travel, is hiking. Twelve years ago, I completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre. A year later, I opted for a much longer walk: Prague to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre. The journey took me 3.5 months, walking through the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Spain. It was a walk of a lifetime, and I have so many fond memories of the pilgrimage.
NDT I’ve always felt that I am compassionate and drawn to others who are open-minded and empathetic. About five years ago, I discovered the selfless satisfaction of volunteering. I volunteered in Cambodia at an American-run orphanage in Takéo Province, teaching English, teaching guitar, playing for the children in a concert run by the organizers, and helping out in the fields and on a new construction project. I have since volunteered occasionally as a Hospitalero on the Via de la Plata Camino de Santiago.
NDT I’m the author of a novel – a work of fiction – that I published online under a pseudonym six years ago. One of my short-term goals is to revisit the content, do some major rework, and publish anew with a specific publishing house and in my name. My long-term goals consist of further developing my current businesses, walking and discovering new people and places, and looking at additional ways to use my time and resources to benefit people.
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Neville David Thomas 