PAUL Epps used to check up on convicted criminals - now he's checking up on students at the American College of Sofia.

He told The Echo: "I am the dean of students at the college which means that I have responsibility for discipline, attendance and supervising the club activities and responsibility for the faculty council.

"The position became open and I saw there was an opportunity to express myself in a different position, express my ideas. I sought a chance to communicate with students, I sought an opportunity to hopefully make some positive changes.

"Because I had the degree in sociology, I wanted to do something in the field of social work and the first position that was offered to me was supervising men who have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison or put on probation and must have some contact with a supervisor who tries to make sure that they have a job and a place to live.

"I found was that it was not really something that I liked to do, that it was a difficult field dealing with criminals. It was hard to find out what was true and what was not true in terms of what they are telling you, and checking up what they are doing. It is very uncomfortable to always be checking up on young people and having to report them to the court system or to the police because they are not doing the things that they should be doing in order to be successful in society."

His next job was in the mental health field. He worked as a psychological social worker in an institution for the mentally ill.

He said: "There are many people who suffer from psychotic illnesses. Most of them do not have anybody on the outside who will trust them any more, their own families to go back to. After years some of them no longer really exhibit symptoms of psychosis but they do not know how to live outside the institution.

"So, we put in the place several programmes. Teach them how to live in the world outside the institution and take care of themselves or live in an environment with supervision. Teach them how to prepare meals, how to shop and some of the basic things that they are not capable of doing any more. So it was exciting, that process."

With these rich experiences under his belt, Epps decided to try teaching. Before coming to Bulgaria three years ago he was working as a teacher in Kinchasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He taught Psychology and Sociology, History, Cultural Studies and most of the Social Studies classes there.

He said: "I learnt many things from the other jobs - how to deal with people, to sense the troubles that people have, and to try to find ways to deal with those troubles.

"What is the most satisfying thing is the changes in the students. You know, students who were going down a certain path and then they've changed that path and I have found some satisfaction in being able to take care of some problem situations successfully."

He has decided to leave Bulgaria but he will miss some things: "I will miss some of the food and I will miss the devotion to the culture that the people have. There is a real sense of culture here.

"The climate has something to do with this as well though. I am not a winter person. Seems, like I'm never prepared for this weather adequately enough. I enjoy tropical weather."

It seems he has not yet found that place in the world where he would be happy to spend the rest of his life. "I am leaving Bulgaria in July. I will go to the USA where the International School Services conducts a conference that brings administrators from schools around the world and teachers from schools around the world as well as the United States to look for positions."