GRECIA ALVARADO
University of Texas, Arlington, B.A., Language and Cultural Studies

Grecia focused her studies on French and Spanish and spent time abroad in France studying modern multicultural Paris. After completing her degree, she accepted an opportunity with the French National Ministry of Education to teach English in France for a year, during which time she traveled extensively in Europe. The following year, Grecia returned to her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, and worked for a top U.S. Spanish-language television network. She then moved to India to help at a non-profit educational organization as a community development volunteer, and completed a 200-hour yoga instructor certification. While abroad, she traveled to Thailand, Cambodia, and Reunion Island. This fall, Grecia will work with teen refugees in Texas. Grecia is fluent in French and Spanish.

TIM GHAZZAWI
University of Maryland–College Park, B.A., English, Language, and Literature; University of Maryland–College Park, M.Ed., Secondary Education (English)

Tim has spent much of his time in classrooms, serving as teacher, coach, tutor, and mentor during his time as a student as the University of Maryland and during his travel in Ecuador and Uganda. After his first trip to Ecuador, Tim founded the organization Bilingual Backpacks as a way to sustain and foster his relationship with an indigenous community he became close with. Tim has since returned to Ecuador three times with supplies for community-based projects that included the planting of a local garden and the formation of an after-school tutoring program. Tim currently serves as a 9th grade English teacher and head tennis coach at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He is proficient in Spanish.