TEAM 2007-2008
We are so pleased to introduce you to a stellar group of individuals who are guiding their students to academic and extracurricular excellence while learning together about life in Central America!
Thiago M. Oliveira - Administrator
A 2006 graduate of Dartmouth College, Thiago brings a rich set of experiences to the Administrator position. A second generation American who is fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese, Thiago has spent the last 10 years in service to the Latino community and he has experienced first hand several of the challenges his community is currently facing. While at Dartmouth, Thiago assistant taught both Spanish and Portuguese, served as a sexual assault peer advisor, and held the position of Vice President of Diversity Affairs within Dartmouth’s Student Assembly. These experiences sharpened Thiago’s management skills and further developed his ability to effectively communicate challenging ideas in equally challenging environments. These experiences also fueled Thiago’s commitment to service and justice; he shared, “As one among the nine percent (9%) of Latino men who hold college degrees in the United States, I consider myself privileged and feel a responsibility to continually serve and strengthen my community.†As he leads the 2007-2008 BECA teaching staff into the new academic year, we are confident that he will bring all of these experiences to bear on this new and exciting challenge.
Kurt Sarsfield - 7/8/9 English and Social Studies
Kurt has spent the past two years living and teaching in Austin, Texas. A 2005 graduate of the University of Michigan, where he studied English Language and Literature, Kurt brings a diverse set of experiences to the BECA team. His English language arts and ESL teaching certifications will serve his middle school students well. Along with extensive work as first a teaching assistant and then a teacher, Kurt has worked as both a backpacking instructor and an Adventure Camp Counselor in New Mexico, Texas, and elsewhere. As an outdoor educator Kurt “taught groups of adolescents to use teamwork, communication, and problem solving skills in situations that were both mentally and physically stressful.†Through these experiences, Kurt honed his leadership skills - his ability to listen and to integrate alternative perspectives - and he developed the patience and understanding necessary to work effectively with others. Kurt brought these skills to Thailand during the aftermath of the December 2004 Tsunami, where he volunteered alongside Thai residents to rebuild a destroyed fishing village. We’re excited that he’ll be taking this commitment to partnership and justice to the Cofradia community for the 2007-2008 year.
Raina Milne - 7/8/9 Math and Science
Another 2006 Dartmouth grad, Raina comes to BECA having spent the past year working as a Psychiatric Therapist in western Massachusetts. An undergraduate Psychological and Brain Sciences major, Raina will be implementing BECA’s 7/8/9th grade math and science curriculum, subjects that she has long been passionate about. Raina brings with her extensive international experience, having lived and taught in Peru, Bolivia and Tanzania, and she has consistently brought what she has learned through these experiences to her local community. Conversant in Swahili and a student of East African culture, Raina is now eager to improve her Spanish and, as everyone is bound to do, fall in love with the Honduran baleada! Raina’s commitment to children and education is not limited to international experiences. She has also served as a Big Sister and worked as a mentor at the Boys and Girls Club. Interested in a career in International Development, Raina had this to say about teaching with BECA, “by giving me more exposure to the developing world, teaching children, and learning from everyone, this would be another adventure that gives me more insight into what could be helped and changed in the world.â€
Anderson Heston - 6th Grade
A 2005 graduate of Davidson College, Anderson comes to BECA from two years of teaching and learning in the Mississippi Delta as a member of the competitive Mississippi Teacher Corps. As part of the Corps, Anderson taught English and Creative Writing at three different critical-needs high schools while working toward his Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Mississippi. While Anderson brings significant teaching experience, perhaps more importantly, he brings a demonstrated passion for personal growth through service. In response to a BECA’s application question he wrote, “I am interested in BECA not in spite of the significant challenge; I am interested in BECA because of the significant challenge. I want to learn something. I want to speak, read, and write Spanish fluently. . . I want to see a school and a student body completely unlike the one where I have learned to teach. I want to see another culture, and learn how that culture sees me.†We expect his students to benefit from Anderson’s enthusiasm for academic learning and personal growth. While he’s not sure where he’ll be in the future, he knows what’s important to him, “community, education, justice, and, above all, passion, passion for literature and music and art and nature, friendship and love and life.†As far as what he’ll bring, “ I will bring everything I have learned,†he writes, “and an open mind.†BECA couldn’t ask for anything more.
Kaitlin Turck - 5th Grade
A Virginia native, Kaitlin graduated from The College of William and Mary in 2007 with a dual degree in Hispanic Studies and Women’s Studies. No stranger to travel, Kaitlin has lived in Spain, Argentina, China and Germany, and visited many countries along the way - including a recent service trip to Mexico. Kaitlin brings with her extensive experience working in education, having served as an adult literacy tutor and as a substitute teacher in the Fairfax County Public Schools for the past four years. Kaitlin also brings a passion for film to the BECA team, having served on the film committee of the campus activities board at William and Mary, and as a 2006 summer intern for the Yari Film Group – the producers of ‘Crash.’ It is no surprise then that she is a prolific actress, having participated in six theatre productions on campus, four of which starred Kaitlin in the leading role. When asked about her motivation to serve with BECA, Kaitlin had this to say: “I think that it is important to build relations between the people of different countries and to learn from each other. Whether home or abroad, I feel that educational and community development are extremely important.†The BECA Board agrees, and we’re excited to have her as a member of the 2007-2008 teaching team!
Update Coming Soon- 4th Grade
Update coming soon.
Hazel Ryerson - 3rd Grade
Hazel is a 2007 graduate of the University of Vermont where she majored in English and minored in US Ethnic Studies. A talented writer and illustrator, Hazel has worked for What’s Up Magazine, The Vermont Cynic, and she co-founded The Water Tower, an alternative student newspaper at UVM. Hazel also has extensive experience working with children, serving as a swim instructor, After School Coordinator, and as the Assistant Director of a summer program at the Chilmark Community Center in Massachusetts. Hazel also attended the San Blas Language School in Cusco, Peru in 2006 where she taught basic English and math at Aldea Infantil Juan Pablo II orphanage. Hazel found BECA through a fortuitous chance encounter with a former BECA volunteer while researching international education opportunities at her local library. Our network certainly is expanding! Hazel’s future plans will probably not lead her far astray from the adventure she is embarking upon with BECA. Planning to work as an educator or in public education policy, Hazel shared her hopes for her BECA experience, “I think that working at BECA will give me the experience I will need to support bilingual education in my increasingly bilingual country.â€
K. Kyler Arnold - 2nd Grade
A 2006 graduate of Texas A&M University with a major in International Studies and a concentration in Politics and Diplomacy, Kyler most recently served as a Junior Policy Analyst for Texas State Senator Robert Duncan. Kyler has studied the Spanish language for the past 11 years; she studied abroad in Spain twice – once in high school and once in college – and she has visited and served as a volunteer in the Mexican communities of Monterrey and Piedras Negras as well. At Texas A&M Kyler dedicated herself to growing the university’s CARPOOL Program, “a non-profit safe ride program run by Texas A&M student volunteersâ€, where she served as Deputy Director of Fundraising. She has also worked with children in numerous capacities, most recently serving as a volunteer at the Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church nursery in Austin, Texas and previously serving as an elementary school literacy tutor with the “Helping One Student to Succeed†Program. She will no doubt bring these experiences - and her many gifts and abundant enthusiasm- to her eager 2nd Graders!
Paxton Kirsh - 1st Grade
Paxton Kirsh graduated from Louisiana State University in May 2007. She majored in Spanish and studied abroad in Spain at the University of Malaga during her junior year. While in college, Paxton served as a classroom assistant in a 5th grade Spanish immersion classroom in Baton Rouge with many socioeconomically disadvantaged kids, and she gained significant insight into the struggles students face when learning in a language that is not their first language. She has also worked with kids in a variety of other settings. She served as a mentor for young students participating in service-learning projects. She worked at a summer camp for disadvantaged youth in Austin, Texas, and she was a homework tutor for elementary age children. Paxton is originally from Texas and has traveled extensively through rural areas of Latin America.