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Antonia Lortis participated in a Youth For Understanding High School Summer exchange program and lived in Caracas, Venezuela in the summer of 1989. In the summer of 1990, she participated in the Amigos de Las Americas Health Volunteer Program, lived in rural Laurel, Costa Rica and taught kids how to brush their teeth. In 1993, she participated in the HECUA-South American Urban Studies (Guatemala, Colombia and Ecuador).
In 1994, she graduated from the U of Minnesota majoring in Latin American Studies and minoring in Foreign Studies. On September 18, 2001, she joined the University of Minnesota's Global Campus (now the Learning Abroad Center) as a marketing associate. In 2006, she earned a MBA with a marketing emphasis from the Carlson School of Management at the U of MN and became the Learning Abroad Center's Marketing & Institutional Relations Director. She enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, dining out, exploring cities, problem-solving, dancing, and talking.
BJ has worked in Education Abroad since 2002 at both the University of Minnesota as well as Macalester College. BJ Titus is currently an associate program director in the Learning Abroad Center at the University of Minnesota. He holds a BA in Spanish and Linguistics from the University of Minnesota. He manages MSID Kenya and MSID Ecuador programs as well as the Arabic Language & Culture in Morocco program. In the past, he has worked with the International Program in Toledo, MSID India, Summer Study in Rome, Study Abroad in Florence as well as the Global Seminars. He has an amazing memory, likes Thai food, and Indiana, the state.
Sarah Tschida graduated from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, MN, in 2003 with a degree in Communication. As a junior, she spent a formative semester studying at the University of Notre Dame-Fremantle in Western Australia. After graduation she worked in Lucerne, Switzerland for a year and then began working at the Learning Abroad Center in July 2005. Sarah completed a Master of Arts in January 2009 from the University of Minnesota in Comparative & International Development Education. Her research focused on the experience of Hmong American heritage seeking students studying abroad in Thailand and Laos. Sarah is a bookworm, bicyclist, adventurous eater and cook, and of course, a traveler in her spare time.
Sarah was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. She studied in Seville, Spain, for a semester during her junior year and it was the defining experience of her college career. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in 1998. In February 2008, Sarah completed a master’s degree in Educational Policy and Administration: Higher Education track. Her thesis paper explored short-term study abroad programs from the faculty leader perspective.
Sarah has worked at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities campus for ten years and often wonders where the last decade went! She worked for a summer at the University’s International Student and Scholar Services office. After that, she got a job at what was then known as the Global Campus—now the Learning Abroad Center. She has held a few positions in the LAC—first as a program assistant, then program associate, and is now currently an associate program director.
Sarah lives in North Minneapolis with her husband and their two cats. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, going out to eat, home improvement projects, walking, working out, relaxing at home, and spending time with family and friends.
Scott Daby is an associate program director in the Learning Abroad Center. He manages a variety of programs, including Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) India, Study Abroad in Mexico, and the International Program in Toledo. Scott has worked in education abroad since 2000. He holds a BA in Global Studies, History, and Microbiology, and an MA in Comparative and International Development Education, both from the University of Minnesota.
Scott studied in Merida, Venezuela, and Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, as an undergraduate. He has spent time volunteering in Guatemala after graduating and has traveled throughout Latin America, southern Africa, western Europe, and southeast Asia.
When not working or traveling, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Miranda, and daughter, Isabella. He loves the outdoors and camps and bikes as often as the Minnesota weather allows. His favorite site for camping is the gem of Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. When visiting tropical marine areas, scuba is a favorite activity. Scott is also an avid reader of world history and politics and has a not so secret love of science fiction as well.
Zach was born in Tulsa, OK, but has not been back there since he was about a year old. He grew up all over the US and world, with stops in St. Louis, MO (twice actually), San Antonio, TX, Omaha, NE, Tokyo, Japan, and London, England. He spent about 2 to 3 years in each place, so basically each time he really got comfortable in a new city/state/country, his parents decided it was time to move again. Probably the most (or at least somewhat) interesting thing about his experience in London was that he attended a British school from kindergarten through second grade, so when he came back to the US for third grade he knew nothing about US history and had a thick British accent.
For his experience in Tokyo, it would probably have to be that he worked at Tokyo Disneyland in 7th and 8th grade as a parade performer (he was Pete of Pete's Dragon fame). Zach's immediate family currently resides in Omaha, NE, where they've been for about 10 years now, which is also where he went to high school. He has three younger brothers...two in college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and one at Kansas University.
Zach went to college at Saint John's University. He graduated in 2003 with a degree in Communication and Political Science. While at Saint John's he studied abroad in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, for 5 months during his junior year. For the 3 years after graduation he worked at Target's headquarters in merchandise planning. He started at the Learning Abroad Center in August, 2006. He recently finished his master's degree in Comparative and International Development Education here at the U of MN. His thesis focused on the underrepresentation of males in study abroad.
Last modified on October 20, 2009 |