What led your path to joining the team at Euroace?
I originally came to live in Spain two years ago to improve my Spanish and also to work as an English teacher. I found out about Euroace through a friend and felt excited about the opportunity of working in both my native and second language, and at the same time helping students from all over the world to enjoy their study abroad experience and the Spanish culture.
Visited Spain's Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar
Describe some of your typical responsibilities as the Student Services and Marketing Coordinator.
On a day to day basis, my tasks vary depending on the different programs we have running and the arrival and departure of students. Upon arrival, I show students around the city, help them to understand local factors such as public transport, and assist them in their initial interviews at their chosen internship placements.
Other responsibilities in terms of student services involve keeping in touch with them on a regular basis, solving any issues they may have and partaking in activities and cultural experiences with them. In terms of marketing, I manage social media accounts and publish daily on all of our networks. I also promote Euroace on various online platforms as well as designing and maintaining our own personal website.
Having fun on a walking tour of the city
What inspires the Euroace social media and online presence?
At Euroace we want to give our students the best possible study abroad experience. We aim to not only educate them with classes, but also teach them about Spain and the rich culture here! So, our online presence involves exactly this.
We try to show our students what’s offered if they choose a study abroad experience in Valencia, and we also try to inform students of current and upcoming events and activities in the city. In addition to this, we create mini lessons, weekly expressions, and blog articles to teach our students more about the Spanish language in general. We want our online presence to be informative, useful, interesting, and fun!
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is meeting students and helping them throughout their experience. It’s really rewarding to help them feel more comfortable and to see them grow and adapt as they go. I really enjoy learning from them too.
International students have a lot to teach us and working with different nationalities is always exciting and interesting! Doing lots of activities with them is also a great part of the job as we can show them parts of the Spanish culture they have never even considered before.
Together with my Euroace colleagues
What do you focus on in welcome orientations?
When we welcome the students we make sure to give them a complete orientation. Some of the main factors we focus on are getting around the city, knowing the main landmarks and addresses they need to travel to, information on public transport, events in the city, local timetables, and other useful information. Then, we like to take them on a walking tour of the city to introduce them to the things we have mentioned, while getting to know the student at the same time.
What kinds of activities do you participate in with students?
Some of our most popular activities that we do with student groups include tapas and flamenco night, kayaking on the river Cabriel, boat trip across the Albufera lake, excursions to other coastal cities such as Pe?iscola and beach volleyball. All of our activities are arranged so that the students can get a taste of the local culture and learn about the region and the country!
Can you tell us about the soccer programs?
Our soccer programs are for international players and teams to come to Spain and experience the Spanish playing style and competition. Our programs offer individual players the chance to train with elite teams and under expert coaches, while also learning Spanish and partaking in cultural activities.
Our team programs create awesome opportunities for soccer teams to come and play in prestigious tournaments, train in top facilities, and experience the language and culture of Spain. Our soccer programs are authentic and can provide your team with an unbeatable playing experience and a cultural immersion to boot!
Watching a La Liga match with our internship students
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
For me, meaningful travel means going on a trip to learn, grow and discover more about the world! There’s so much to see and experience through traveling, and I really believe that traveling makes us grow personally like no other experience.
A quote from one of my favorite books sums it up:
No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection.”
What hopes do you have for the future of Euroace?
I hope that we can continue to grow by bringing more and more student groups to our school in Valencia to learn Spanish and enjoy the culture.
Also, I hope we can continue to develop our soccer network and become a leading soccer provider on the east coast of Spain for cultural soccer tours and player development experiences.
