THE ADMINISTRATION:
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Laura Ellington, Founding Director:
Laura was born in Switzerland, grew up in England, then moved to the US, where she completed her BA in English Literature with a minor in teaching Spanish as a Second Language, from Skidmore College. She has RSA/CELTA Teaching Certification from Cambridge University, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in English-Spanish translation and linguistics from the Universidad Internacional de las Américas, Costa Rica. Her MA is in Cultural Anthropology, from the City University of New York- Hunter College. Before settling in Costa Rica, Laura lived and worked in the US, Nepal, Indonesia and France. She has participated in numerous conferences on Second Language Acquisition and Cross-Cultural Identity and Education, in Costa Rica and abroad. She is bilingual Spanish-English, and speaks French and German. In her free time she enjoys reading, Latin dance, biking and swimming at Sámara's beautiful beach.
Adelita Jimenez, Founding Director.
Adelita is a native Costa Rican. She co-founded the school after working for several years as Spanish professor and later as administrative director in a San José language school. After her original degree in education, she went on to study business with an emphasis in public relations at the Universidad Interamericana in Heredia. She has attended numerous seminars in the area of business administration and second language acquisition.
Marcelo Arroyo, Executive Director
Marcelo is a Costa Rica native and has worked with the school since 1994, first as a Spanish professor and now as the department head and the school's executive director. He is in charge of teacher training and organizing Intercultura's ongoing professional development series. He has a BA and Licenciatura in Literature, Linguistics and Education from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Costa Rica, where he went on to obtain a MEd. in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language. He has also completed coursework towards a PhD in linguistics, specializing in Central American Spanish dialects and Mayan and Chibcha indigenous languages. He has been a speaker at numerous conferences, nationally and internationally, has lectured for the Masters in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language at the Universidad Nacional and is the co-author of the Intercultura Spanish textbooks. In addition, Marcelo organizes Intercultura's Cultural Events Calendar, and is himself a performer of National Folkloric Dance and Music.
Barbara Miller, Sub Director
Barbara is originally from California, but has lived in Costa Rica since 1999. She has a double Bachelors degree in Psychology and Multicultural & Gender Studies from Chico State University in Northern California. After living and working in San Francisco, she began to look for a more adventurous job outside of the country. She received her Teaching English as a Second Language certificate, and in June of 1999 assumed the position of English Department Director at Intercultura, where she is in charge of professional development, curriculum design, and student examinations. She has participated in a number of Second Language Acquisition seminars through Cambridge University, New England Language School and others, and holds a Masters in Educational Administration, with a focus on English as a Second Language. In 2002, she was promoted on the basis of her background and experience to assume the additional role of Student Advisor for Foreign students. She also co-organizes Intercultura's Cultural Events Calendar, and she runs the Spanish-English Student Interchange Program. She is fluent in Spanish
Tyrone Jackson, Administrative Coordinator
Tyrone joined Intercultura in 2002 at the Sámara Campus. He began as an ESL professor and was then promoted to Administrative Coordinator in 2004. He works full time managing the beach campus's Spanish program and cultural activities, as well as overseeing the English classes for local students. His undergraduate studies were in Political Science, with an emphasis on Business Communications, at the University of Central Iowa. Later, in Costa Rica, he completed certification for Teaching English as Second Language. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
Melvin Montero, Junta Directiva.
Melvin has been with the school since 1999, first as managing director and now as an advisor on the Board of Directors. Before returning to work in his home country, he lived in the US for many years, directing programs in the field of social services that concentrated on education for young people and families. He has a Masters of Educational Administration and a Masters of Theological Studies with a concentration in Counseling, and is completing coursework for his PhD in Educational Administration. His area of specialty is the design of educational programs for different population profiles. Melvin also gives frequent lectures at Intercultura on International Education, Intercultural Adaptation Issues, Culture Shock, Psycho-Social Profile of the Costa Rican Family and others. He is bilingual English-Spanish.
SPANISH PROFESSORS
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Alexa Santana Umaña, Promotora de Desarrollo Académico
Alexa is Costa Rican and has been a Spanish professor since 1989, first at the high-school level and later as Academic Director in another capital area Spanish institute, before joining Intercultura in 1996. She has a BA in Literature, Linguistics and Education from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Costa Rica, where she also obtained a Post-Graduate Certificate in Literature. After completing an intensive English program in Canada, she returned to Costa Rica to obtain an MS in Education from the Universidad Latina, with emphasis in Spanish. She has lectured at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma for the Masters program in Spanish as a Second Language, and has spoken about this and related topics at various seminars, conferences and national workshops. She completed the ACTFL training in Oral Proficiency Interviewing, and in addition to teaching, she does student testing, teacher training and professional development at Intercultura.
Victor Estevanovich, Coordinador de Español, Sámara Campus.
Victor is a native Costa Rican who has dedicated himself to teaching Spanish and Latin culture for over 25 years. His studies are in Spanish philology and social sciences, taken at the National University and the Universidad de Costa Rica. He began as a professor and teacher-trainer at Intercultura in 2001, and is now the Spanish Department Head at the Sámara Campus. Prior to joining us, he worked with the Peace Corps, universities and language schools in Costa Rica, the US and Japan. He also speaks English and Japanese.
Vanesa Carvajal Rodriguez
Vanesa is Costa Rican and has been a Spanish professor at Intercultura since 1994. She has a BS in Education from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Costa Rica, with emphasis in Spanish. She is also certified as a teacher of Spanish as a Second Language. She has participated in numerous workshops and conferences, specializing in the Teaching of Spanish as a Second Language. In addition to teaching Spanish, she has also taught Latin Dance, and has presented both Latin and Indigenous Dance nationally.
Victoria Fonseca Calvo
Victoria is Costa Rican and has a BA in Literature, Linguistics and Education with emphasis in Spanish from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Costa Rica. She has been teaching Spanish as a Second Language since 1992, and has participated in many workshops and conferences in this area. She also has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from the Universidad Estatal a Distancia. She has been with Intercultura since 1996.
Adriana Vega
Adriana is Costa Rican and has worked with Intercultura since 2000. She studied Spanish Philology and Grammar at the Universidad de Costa Rica, where she received her BA and worked as a teaching assistant. She has participated in several National Language Congresses as organizer and speaker, and collaborated on the production of the new Costa Rican Spanish Dictionary. In her Masters' Degree in the Teaching of Spanish as a Second Language, she focused on the role of culture and literature in the classroom.
Erika Romero Alvarez
Erica is Costa Rican and has a BA in Spanish Philology from the Universidad de Costa Rica. She has presented and participated in several National Language Congresses. She has been teaching at Intercultura since for since early 2000. She is also a member of a national folkloric dance group, where she performs on a regular basis.
Zeyda Chamorro Sandoval
Zeyda is originally from Nicaragua, and has worked with Intercultura since 1999. She obtained her BA in Spanish Language Education and Literature from the Universidad de Costa Rica. She has participated in many workshops in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, and was a speaker at the Language Congress organized by the Universidad de Costa Rica. She also has a Post-Graduate Certification in Spanish Philology at the same university.
Laura Zúñiga
Laura is Costa Rican and has been a professor at Intercultura since 1999. She obtained her BA in Classical Philology at the Universidad de Costa Rica, specializing in Classical Greek and Latin. She is also certified to teach Spanish as a Second Language. She has presented on Linguistics and Literature at national conferences, and has also lived and taught Spanish in France. She speaks fluent English and French. She is currently completing her MA through the Universidad Nacional.
Nuria Rodriguez Vargas
Nuria is Costa Rican and received her BA in Spanish Literature and Linguistics from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Costa Rica, where she went on to obtain a Post-Graduate Certificate in the same field. She taught Spanish as a Second Language and also Spanish Grammar and Literature at the high-school level, before joining Intercultura in 2000.
Silvia Elena Ruiz Badilla
Sylvia, a Costa Rican, studied at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Costa Rica, where she obtained her BA in Spanish Education, with emphasis in Linguistics and Literature. She obtained her Post-Graduate Certificate in Spanish as a Second Language from the same University. She also studied English at the Costa Rican Technical Institute. She has taught at Intercultura since 2001.
Maria Fernanda Galvez Henao
María Fernanda, originally from Colombia, has been in Costa Rica since 2001 and with Intercultura´s Sámara Campus since 2003. She graduated in Social Communications and Journalism, and went on to receive a Licenciatura in Communications and Education, with emphasis in Spanish. In Colombia, she focused her teaching career on environmental and social development projects for at-risk children. At Intercultura, in addition to teaching Spanish, she gives lectures on Colombia's social and political situation, and on sustainable development in Costa Rica .
Andrés Viales:
Andres, from Costa Rica, has a BA from Universitad de Costa Rica in Spanish and Classical Philology. In addition to teaching at Intercultura, he works at the Philology Department of the University as a teaching assistant. Previously he worked as a research assistant in the areas of classic literature and mythology and as a latin tutor. He has presented and participated in multiple language conferences nationally.
Paula Andrea Martínez:
Paula moved to Costa Rica from her native Colombia after finishing her BA in English and Spanish and her Licenciatura in Modern Languages. She went on to complete a Post-Graduate certificate in teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language. She has been teaching at Intercultura since 2003.
Mónica Molina Méndez:
Monica is Costa Rican, and studied Spanish Literature and Linguistics at the National University, where she obtained her BA and certification in Teaching Spanish as a Second Language. She also studied community education and taught both adults and high school students public and private institutes before joining Intercultura in 2003 as a Spanish professor. She has participated and presented in numerous academic conferences, such as the VI Congreso de Filología, Lingüística y Literatura: Víctor Manuel Arroyo, at the Universidad Nacional.
Hernán González Acuña:
Hernán is from Costa Rica and has his BA from the Universidad de Costa Rica, where he studied Sociology and Philosophy. He is currently completeing a Licenciatura in Education at the UNED. Before teaching, he worked on social investigation projects. He has taught Spanish as a Second Language since 2001, and enjoys sports and running in his free time.
Monserrat Santana
Monserrat, a Costa Rican native, received her BS in Education and Language Therapy at the National University, and went on to do a Licenciatura in the same field. She has presented at conferences on Language Acquisition and Speech Therapy, and is proficient in sign language. Before going into education, she completed a BA in dance, and has performed nationally with folkloric and modern dance groups, as well as giving workshops in dance and corporal expression to children from low-income areas. She is active in local art and theater groups working with marginalized communities, and plays the flute.
Melvin Rodríguez:
Melvin studied Philology and Second Language Acquisition at the Universidad Latina in Santa Cruz, with emphasis in Spanish and English. He taught at the high school level and with adults, before joining joined Intercultura's Sámara campus at the beginning of 2004. He is a native of Guanacaste, Costa Rica's northern-western coastal province, and enjoys reading and Latin dance in his spare time.
Farid Nema:
Farid is a native Costa Rican and joined Intercultura in early 2005. He is bilingual English-Spanish, and has trained to teach both languages, holding a degree in Education from the National University in Nicoya. He participated in the AFS intercultural exchange program in 1990-91, and taught for the Ministry of Education from 2000 to 2005. He presented at several educational congresses during this time. In addition to teaching, he enjoys folkloric dance, poetry and regularly participates in, and dances at, the many folkloric festivals in the region. He is also famous locally for his "bombas y retahilas," the humourous poems he recites, with music, at the Costa Rican "fiestas."
Ilsen Pérez Carrillo:
Ilsen is a native of Costa Rica, and joined Intercultura's Sámara Campus in early 2004 as a Spanish Professor. Her undergraduate degree is from the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica in Education, with teaching certification in Spanish and English. She currently assists in Student Services and teaches part-time. She speaks fluent English and is continuing her ESL studies at Intercultura.
SUPPORT SERVICES
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Adriana Ching, Administrative Coordinator:
Adriana is a native Costa Rican, bilingual in English and Spanish. She joined Intercultura as a receptionist and is now the Administrative Coordinator and English Department Academic Assistant. Working with both the Spanish and English departments, she helps ensure the smooth running of Intercultura's daily operations. Her excellent communication skills are put to good use orienting students regarding their language programs, and helping arrange excursions and cultural activities. She has an Associate's Degree in Psychology and is currently completing her BA in Education.
Geovanna Castro, Public Relations and Reception:
Geovanna is Costa Rica and has been with Intercultura since 2002. She works in the administration, in public relations and student support services. Her legendary patience and good humour make her a favorite with students, who, after meeting her on their first day at school, rely on her for daily help throughout their stay here. She is also the co-coordinator of Cultural Events at Intercultura
Evelyn Dobri, Student Services Coordinator:
Evelyn is Costa Rican but was brought up in Canada, where she completed her studies in tourism and nursing before moving back to Costa Rica. She is in charge of all incoming student affairs, and meets most students via email before they even arrive in Costa Rica, helping them plan their program in her usual cheerful and thorough way. She enjoys interacting with people from different countries and learning about new cultures. She is bilingual Spanish-English and speaks some French.
Margarita Campos, Homestay Program Coordinator:
Margarita has been with Intercultura since 1994, and is in charge of the homestay family program. She gives students their first introduction to Heredia on the Monday city tour, and always has a helping smile as they get to know the area and their homestays. Her energy and good humour endear her to students, and her high standards for families make sure students are well taken care of in their new homes.
Fanny Oreamuno, Contadora:
Fanny has been with Intercultura since 2001 as the school's accountant. Her efficiency and attention to detail extend beyond the accounting department, making sure that the economics run smoothly for host families, students and staff. She loves her work and the satisfaction it gives her to interact with all the people at the school. She is a licensed accountant, with a degree from the Universidad Florencio del Castillo, Costa Rica.
Enrique Valerio:
Enrique is our Latin dance teacher, and has helped countless students overcome their 'two left feet' and become impressive dancers of Salsa and Merengue! He is a performer himself and gives workshops nationally to foreign and local students.
Carmen Jiménez
Carmen, a wonderful cook and a patient teacher, has taught students from all over the world her famous Costa Rican recipes. Her Wednesday classes and the food for all that follows are looked forward to by staff and students alike
Jeri Arend
Jeri helps Intercultura offer students excursions all over the country. He is from Costa Rica and has been involved in tourism his whole life. He likes working as part of the school team, and values the human contact and professionalism of his coworkers and students alike. The enthusiasm of the students and the interpersonal contact with them, as well as the chance to learn about different cultures and his own country, are what attracted him to working in tourism.
Joaquín Lizano:
Joaquín Lizano is Costa Rican, and has collaborated with Intercultura since 1996. He began as a Spanish Professor and Intercultural Communications trainer, and since 2000 has been the Volunteer Program Director through an independent agency. He is a professor at Veritas University in San José and a consultant for the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design. He is fluent in Spanish, French and English, and has lived and worked abroad. His undergraduate studies were in International Business, and his Master's is in Communications, with an emphasis on Intercultural Education.
Paulina Rodríguez
Paulina was born in Quito, Ecuador, and has lived in Costa Rica since early 2004. She works for Intercultura's English department in customer service and accounting, where she enjoys interacting with the many local students. She also provides support to the Administration and the Spanish Department. Paulina has a Licenciatura en Business Administration, with a concentration in finance. In her free time she enjoys swimming, volleyball and watching foreign films.
Nicolás Correa
Nicolás was born in Medellín, Colombia, and has lived in Costa Rica since 2001. He works for the English department as an academic assistant, and also helps in Student Services for the Spanish department. He is currently majoring in Teaching English at the Universidad Nacional (UNA), and plans to study Graphic Design and Digital Animation when he finishes. Outside of school, he enjoys drawing, playing basketball, and going to the cinema.
Note:
- Philology is equivalent to the study of Literature, Language and Linguistics
- A Post-Graduate Certificate is called a 'Licenciatura' in Spanish, and involves a full year of study plus a thesis after the Bachelor's degree.
- The Costa Rican degree is recognized by the US university system as equivalent to a US university degree.
- Most teachers speak some English.
