Associate Professor of TESOL & Intercultural Studies, ELIC Program Director, and Fulbright Program Advisor
Words: Juliana Bacote ’24
For years, Dr. Pam Barger M.A. ’00 searched for the truth. Born to Thai parents in Chicago, Barger grew up in a Buddhist family. Her Buddhist parents enrolled her in a Catholic school in the city, and she was interested in the God of the Bible that she studied there. As she worked through the complexities of balancing these very different belief systems, she was fascinated by the purpose of life and grappled with her identity.
After some negative experiences in her ten years at Catholic school, Barger decided to go to a public university. “I was so excited when I went to public school afterward,” she said. “I chose the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign because I wanted to get away from religion in education. It was ironically there that I became a Christian.”
After a difficult break-up, Barger was surprised to learn that her ex-boyfriend had begun attending a church. Her surprise morphed into curiosity, prompting her to visit the church. It was here that she met Christ. “I learned that if I were to have a relationship with the Lord, he would bring that peace and joy that I longed to have,” she said. “I knew I could find purpose in life through having a relationship with Jesus Christ.”
A year after graduating, Barger was working in an unfulfilling office job when her then-friend, now-husband, encouraged her to apply for a program at Wheaton College that aligned with her passions: the M.A. in TESOL and Intercultural Studies. “Because of my upbringing, I love studying other cultures and international education,” Barger said.
The call informing her of her acceptance to the program could not have arrived at a better time. “I remember I was really frustrated because my job wasn’t what I was envisioning,” she recalled. “And I had broken into tears and was praying to God, asking, ‘What am I going to do next in my life?’ Then the director of graduate admissions at Wheaton called my work phone number, which I didn’t remember giving away. And she asked me if I was still interested in the Wheaton program. I think that was a sign from God.”
That phone call brought Barger to Wheaton, where she has held various roles for more than 20 years, enabling her to see the College through many lenses: student, staff, and faculty.
After completing the TESOL and Intercultural Studies master’s program, she joined Wheaton’s staff as a program administrator of the English Language Institute of China, ELIC, a Wheaton partnership program. While in this role, she began teaching as an adjunct professor at Wheaton after completing her doctorate in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies at Loyola University Chicago in 2010. She taught TESOL and Intercultural Studies courses, gradually teaching more over time, and was eventually named assistant professor. In the spring of 2026, Barger was promoted to associate professor.
In the classroom, she has the opportunity to share her passions and develop her students both academically and as people. “I love working alongside students when they have ‘aha!’ moments,” Barger said. “Those moments come in many of the classes, but I love it especially when it happens with cultural components, and they say, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize this about myself or my own world views.’”
Barger hopes her students will remember the image of global Christianity that she paints in her class. “I love that these students get to see the global God,” she said. “I really try to emphasize looking at God through a global lens, which causes students to say, ‘God is a bigger God than I ever imagined.’”
Barger supports students and further enables them to experience global Christianity through helping them get involved with the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, for which she serves as the advisor at Wheaton. The program provides students with the opportunity to teach English, study, or conduct research abroad.
Barger has a personal connection to the Fulbright Scholar Program, having received a Fulbright scholarship in 2019 to teach and complete research in Thailand in 2020. “I’ve always loved other cultures, but being immersed in Thailand as a Christian grew my love and desire to see the Thai people understand the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit,” said Barger. “When I became a Christian, I knew God convicted me that He was going to use me to reach out to the Thai people and my parents, who are still not Christians.”
Amidst the challenges Barger faces with this conviction and her work at Wheaton, she remains faithful to the task she believes God has given her. “I think what motivates me is knowing from students, colleagues, and alumni that my work is making a difference,” she said. “What I’m doing is just trying to glorify him in any way, whether it’s teaching, helping someone, or working behind the scenes. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to do that.”
Learn more at wheaton.edu/TESOL-and-intercultural-studies.
