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A Final Goodbye
Jesse recaps his semester abroad in Limerick.
The post A Final Goodbye appeared first on The API Blog.
Academic Programs International Staff Directory
Board of Directors
Hometown: Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Salamanca, Spain
Favorite travel location: Cuba
Education: Bachelor’s in Communications with an International focus, Diploma in Hispanic Studies, Master’s in Spanish Language & Culture
Fun fact: Jennifer would love to learn how to salsa dance.
Hometown: Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Madrid, Spain
Favorite travel location: Innsbruck during Christmas.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Montclair State University, Master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Boston University and Ph.D. in Intercultural Communications from University of Texas.
Fun fact: Sharon once had James Michener and his wife as surprise dinner guests at her house!
Hometown: Brookline, MA
Study abroad experience: Madrid, Spain
Favorite travel location: Too hard to name, but I know Spain the best!
Education: BA in Comparative Literature from Hamilton College, MA in Spanish from Middlebury College
Fun fact: Julie has a 100 pound Great Pyrnees/Golden Retriever that thinks she is a lap dog!
Hometown: Temple, TX
Study abroad experience: Rotary student in Belgium; College student in Lyon, France
Favorite travel location: Brittany loves every place she has been, as each one is different and special. If she had to pick one, it would be Paris.
Education: International Studies/Economics and French double major
Fun fact: Brittany has a heart for orphans. She and her family hope to add more children to their family from other countries within the next few years! She also loves to knit – her family has an over-abundance of scarves!
Student Services Staff
Hometown: Malvern, Pennsylvania
Study abroad experience: Granada, Spain
Favorite travel location: Tuscany
Education: Undergraduate degree in Communication Studies & Spanish
Fun fact: Brittany tends to carry her water bottle closer to her than her cell phone!
Hometown: Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Granada, Spain
Favorite travel location: Paris, France
Education: Undergraduate degree in International Studies with minors in Spanish & Business
Fun fact: Paige has a passion for tap dance!
Hometown: Shelby Township, Michigan
Study abroad experience: Quito, Ecuador
Favorite travel location: Courtney enjoys traveling most when she can stay long enough to truly get to know local people and adopt new habits.
Education: Economics & Spanish (undergraduate); International Development Studies (graduate)
Fun fact: Courtney has visited Malaysia, Ethiopia and Cuba, but she’s never been to the UK. Not even for a layover!
Hometown: Allen, TX
Study abroad experience: Austria
Favorite travel location: Barcelona, Spain
Education: Political Science
Fun fact: Mallory has two roommates. One is named Erin and the other is named Aaron. Needless to say, it can get confusing.
Hometown: Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Bangor, Wales, UK; Bologna, Italy; Granada, Spain
Favorite travel location: Holly had an amazing experience couch-surfing around Switzerland – Geneva, Bern, Lucerne, and Zurich to be exact. One of her couch surfing hosts even threw an authentic fondue party with about 20 other couch-surfing hosts and their guests!
Education: Undergraduate degrees in Italian and Spanish
Fun fact: Holly has been an extra in about 12 films/TV movie/TV shows. The highlight of these experiences was meeting Gael Garcia Bernal on a set a few years ago!
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Study abroad experience: Dijon, France
Favorite travel location: The Rodin museum and gardens in Paris, France.
Education: Undergraduate degree in English
Fun fact: Carolyn’s first trip abroad was when she was five – she went with her family to Australia with a stop-over in Tahiti. Carolyn most vividly remembers the sharks in Tahiti and koala bears in Australia.
Hometown: Luling, TX
Study abroad experience: Galway, Ireland
Favorite travel location: Galway, Ireland
Education: Sociology/Government
Fun fact: Erin was born and raised on a ranch. She can build a fence, drive a tractor, ride a horse, fish & hunt!
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA & Medford, New Jersey
Study abroad experience: Paris, France; Seville, Spain; Salamanca, Spain
Favorite travel location: Istanbul, Turkey; Paris, France; Barcelona, Spain; Venice, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal
Education: Undergraduate degree in French and Spanish, Graduate degree in Hispanic Linguistics
Fun fact: Vija is a visual artist!
Hometown: Buda, TX
Study abroad experience: Krakow, Poland
Favorite travel location: Sorrento, Italy
Education: Healthcare Administration
Fun fact: Kim loves being a mom to her two boys!
Administrative and Support Staff
Hometown: Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Costa Rica
Favorite travel location: Victoria Island in BC
Education: My first degree was in Government, specifically political theory and my second major was in Elementary Education with a focus on ESL.
Fun fact: Kimbell loves to bake chocolate chip cookies and dance to rap music.
Financial Services Staff
Hometown: Longmeadow, Massachusetts
Study abroad experience: Seville, Spain with API!
Favorite travel location: Seeing the monarch butterfly migration in Michoacan, Mexico.
Education: Undergraduate degree in Spanish.
Fun fact: At one time, Lisa was afraid to be away from home.
Hometown: Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Madrid, Spain
Favorite travel location: Segovia, Spain
Education: Undergraduate degree in Economics
Fun fact: Chris loves both music and wine.
Hometown: Originally born in Seoul, Korea, grew up in Glendale, CA; lived in various cities around Los Angeles, now in Austin, TX!
Study abroad experience: None, per say, but see above!
Favorite travel location: All of the islands of Hawaii: Oahu, Maui, Kaui, the Big Island; Montreal, Canada; New York, NY
Education: Business
Fun fact: Aimee likes to create art! Drawing, painting, photography, or jewelry to name a few specific crafts.
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Study abroad experience: Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Favorite travel location: Throughout towns & villages in Mexico.
Education: B.S. in Accounting, Masters in Taxation
Fun fact: Jill and her husband both are identical twins.
Hometown: Montclair, NJ
Study abroad experience: Studying abroad wasn’t an option during college, though she wishes she could have!
Favorite travel location: Savannah, GA
Education: Fashion Design
Fun fact: Cyndi collects vintage hats!
High School and Customized Programs
Hometown: Cranson, Rhode Island
Study abroad experience: Grenoble, France
Favorite travel location: The Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
Education: Undergraduate degree in Political Science/International Affairs
Fun fact: Patrick has been practicing Bikram Yoga for three years!
Hometown:Dallas/Austin, Texas
Study abroad experience: Sevilla, Spain and Salamanca, Spain
Favorite travel location: That is a hard question… but I would have to say Rome, Italy or the West coast of Ireland.
Education: Undergraduate degree in Spanish.
Fun fact: Courtney’s favorite 80s bands are Duran Duran and the Thompson Twins.
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Study abroad experience: Barcelona, Spain
Favorite travel location: If Julia had to choose, it would probably be Positano, a wonderful beach town on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. She remembers taking the bus from Sorrento to Positano for the first time and laughing as one tourist was running from window to window, attempting to capture the beauty in a photo.
Education: Business Management major with a concentration in International Business and a minor in Philosophy from the University of Kansas. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
Fun fact: Since 2010, Julia has been sharing her major passion for discovering new music through her music blog, “Jammables.” Check it out!
Hometown: Austin & Tel Aviv
Study abroad experience: Florence, Italy
Favorite travel location: Cambodia
Education: Double major in Art History & Italian
Fun fact: Roni loves Swedish indie-pop!
University Relations Staff
Hometown: Seneca, South Carolina
Study abroad experience: Madrid, Spain & Paris, France
Favorite travel location: Machu Picchu, Peru
Education: Degree in International Relations
Fun fact: Jeff worked for the Tour de France in 1991-1992.
Hometown: North Grafton, Massachusetts
Study abroad experience: Martha has been on many site visits!
Favorite travel location: Italy and Ireland
Education: English
Fun fact: Martha has 6 children and 15 grandchildren!
Hometown: Bogotá, Colombia/Vienna Austria/Virginia/Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Although Christie did not have an official study abroad experience, she has lived in Colombia, Burma, Hong Kong, and Austria.
Favorite travel location: Salzburg, Austria
Education: Undergraduate degree in German
Fun fact: Christie ran her first marathon on a whim, signing up three days prior. Before the marathon, she had never ran more than 9 miles!
Hometown: Houston, TX
Study abroad experience: Grenoble, France
Favorite travel location: Chelsea’s favorite travel spot is a tiny bed & breakfast on the outskirts of Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. Heaven on earth!
Education: Undergraduate degree in English and French
Fun fact: Chelsea has attended every Harry Potter midnight release (book & film).
Hometown: Worcester, MA
Study abroad experience: Rome and Taormina, Italy
Favorite travel location: India is by far the most interesting place Cathy has been, but hands down Italy is her favorite location.
Education: Undergraduate degree in Urban Studies
Fun fact: Cathy proves to have excellent luck as she has won 2 iPads within 1 year!
Hometown: St. Augustine, Florida
Study abroad experience: Havana, Cuba; Paris, France
Favorite travel location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Education: BA in Latin American Studies, Ph.D. in Latin American Literature
Fun fact: Joan enjoys spending time with her Jack Russell Terrier, Estela.
Hometown: Springfield, MA
Study abroad experience: Summer in Corrientes, Argentina; semester in Cuernavaca, Mexico; year in Granada Spain. The year in Granada was with API!
Favorite travel location: Jerusalem, Israel
Education: Undergraduate degree in Spanish
Fun fact: Ilene loves to sing karaoke!
Hometown: Victoria, TX
Study abroad experience: Julie worked as an au pair in Biarritz, France and spent another year teaching English in Pusan, South Korea.
Favorite travel location: The Basque region of France and Spain are two of Julie’s favorite locations!
Education: Undergraduate degree in Journalism, graduate degree in Foreign Language Education
Fun fact: Julie loves making & eating apple tarts!
Hometown: Pella, Iowa
Study abroad experience: Karen studied abroad in Leiden, the Netherlands (semester); Bangor, Wales (summer); and Paris, France (semester).
Favorite travel location: Barcelona, Spain
Education: Undergraduate degree in Anthropology with minors in Art and French
Fun fact: Karen didn’t shave her legs (or armpits) for six months while living in France.
Development and Communications Staff
Hometown: Allen, TX
Study abroad experience: Alicante, Spain
Favorite travel location: Big Bend National Park
Education: Undergraduate degree in Spanish with minors in Economics and Linguistics
Fun fact: Michael owns three chickens: Kate, Chloe & Lassi
Hometown: Austin, TX
Study abroad experience: Salamanca, Spain
Favorite travel location: Mt. Huangshan
Education: Undergraduate in Spanish
Fun fact: Mark has never told a lie.
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Study abroad experience: Jeramy has visited many of API’s locations, including Barcelona (Spain), Bilbao (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Doha (Qatar), Dublin (Ireland), Galway (Ireland), Florence (Italy), Grenoble (France), Krakow (Poland), Leeds (England), Rome (Italy), Sharjah (UAE), and Tuscania (Italy).
Favorite travel location: Salzburg, Austria or Dubai, UAE
Education: Undergraduate degree in Advertising, graduate degree in Media & Public Affairs
Fun fact: Jeramy once served as Tim Duncan’s bodyguard.
Hometown: Salem, Oregon
Study abroad experience: Querétaro, Mexico & gap summer in Italy/Austria/Germany
Favorite travel location: Mexico and Greece
Education: Creative Advertising/brand strategy, Spanish
Fun fact: Kim has played the violin for 17 years and loves to salsa dance!
Hometown: Houston, TX; Paris, France; Los Angeles, CA
Study abroad experience: Although Marc did not study abroad, he did spend six months working abroad on the Disneyland Paris Work Exchange Program.
Favorite travel location: Marc’s favorite travel experiences include: Living and working in Paris, France; hang gliding in Rio de Janiero, Brazil; sky diving in Kauai, Hawaii; surfing in Santander, Spain; diving in the great barrier reef, Australia
Education: undergraduate degree in Creative Advertising
Fun fact: Marc walked down the red carpet of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie premiere with fans yelling out “I love you Marc!” only to find out those kind words were meant for Mark Hoppus of the band Blink 182 who was walking behind him.
Cultural Embrace by API Staff
Hometown: Silver Spring, Maryland
Study abroad experience: Although Emlyn never studied abroad, she has had incredible opportunities to teach English, work, volunteer, lead group trips, and travel abroad to more than 80 countries in six continents.
Favorite travel location: One of Emlyn’s more unique and favorite travel experiences was riding elephants on a tiger safari in Chitwan National Park in Nepal.
Education: Speech Communications…go Terps!
Fun fact: Emlyn is the youngest of five girls in her family, and the girls are named in alphabetical order!
Hometown: Abilene, Texas
Study abroad experience: Madrid, Spain; Iquique, Chile (Taught English); Buenos Aires, Argentina (Interned)
Favorite travel location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Education: BA in International Studies and Spanish, MA in International Studies
Fun fact: Caroline’s first hiking trip ever was a 4-day hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru!
Resident Directors
API has more than 50 Resident Directors in our 17 host countries. Depending on the size of each respective host city, some sites have several Resident Directors with specific responsibilities, such as oversight of housing placements or cultural activities, whereas other sites have one director who manages all program components.
Parents and advisors are asked to work directly with the API Texas office rather than our Resident Directors. This allows the Resident Directors to concentrate more fully on the needs of the student participants and ensures accurate communication of API policies and procedures.
CONTACT API
Academic Programs International301 Camp Craft Road • Suite 100
Austin, Texas 78746
512/600-8900 T • 800/844-4124 T
512/600-8999 F
api@apistudyabroad.com ▶
LOCATIONS
- Argentina ▶ Buenos Aires • Mendoza
- Chile ▶ Valparaíso • Viña del Mar
- China ▶
- Costa Rica ▶ San Joaquín de Flores • San José
- Croatia ▶ Dubrovnik
- Cuba ▶ Havana
- England ▶ London • Leeds
- France ▶ Caen • Grenoble • Paris
- Germany ▶ Berlin
- Hungary ▶ Budapest
- Ireland ▶ Cork • Dublin • Galway • Limerick
- Italy ▶ Florence • Rome • Taormina • Tuscania • Venice
- Mexico ▶ Querétaro
- Poland ▶ Kraków
- Qatar ▶ Doha
- Scotland ▶ Edinburgh • Stirling
- Spain ▶ Barcelona • Bilbao • Cádiz • Girona • Granada • Madrid • Salamanca • Seville
- United Arab Emirates ▶ Sharjah
