It might be difficult to find common ground with a backpacker and a scientist, but this is not the case for Mary May. While on her seven-year absence from Masters, May spread her passion for science and gained new perspectives as she traveled to the other side of the world to teach in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

For five years May worked at Dharan High School in Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf. When the school contacted her with a teaching position, May was thrilled. She loves the culture, noting that “the Saudi people are very hospitable and genuine” and “Middle Eastern food and music rocks!”

May’s fondest memories of the country came from taking in the landscape. She recalls snorkeling in the Red Sea, and her favorite trips were to the desert, where she and her friends would have fun driving down the sand dunes. At night they would set out rugs and a grill. “There were so many stars; it was amazing!”

But there was also a different side of Saudi society. Whenever she went out, Ms. May had to wear an Abaya [black robes which cover a person from head to toe] as all women did, even when it was 100 degrees out. The compound where she lived was surrounded by barbed wire and cement barricades, where security guards were stationed with machine guns.

They had to use them once.

There was a horrific attack from al Qaeda two to three miles from her compound. She remembers she was teaching at the time.

“A student got a call from her mom about the attacks, so I called security and made everyone hide under their desks,” May said. During the attacks, one of her neighbors was killed, and one of her friends was shot, but thankfully survived.

“It was very personal and needless. Life got very strict after that.”

At home, Ms. May taught her son and daughter what to do in case of another attack. “I taught them how to hide in the kitchen and a room which was always filled with water and other necessities. I told them that they were tornado drills so they wouldn’t get scared.” May also remembers how neighbors started checking their cars after one was found with a bomb attached to the windshield.

She left the country in 2013 to work in Malaysia, another country with a very hot climate. Her favorite parts were taking walks in the beautiful rain forest, where she saw all types of wildlife, including a python and a spitting cobra. But she still preferred Saudi Arabia. Her best memories of working abroad weren’t so much of teaching, but getting to know the students.

While in Saudi Arabia, she was an active member of the Effect Club, which was a mostly student-run environmental club. She remembers seeing the students’ enthusiasm for recycling flourish, and loved watching them develop collaborative environmental projects for other schools.

Mary May has already unpacked her suitcase, filled with diverse experiences, skillsets, a passion for science and getting to know new people. She looks forward to staying at Masters and spreading her talents for a long time.