Meet Katie

Hello!

My name is Katie, I am from New York State in the US, BUT these days you can find me in Barva de Heredia. I love my group of friends and community that I am part of here. You can typically find me playing with all the dogs (even though I’m allergic!) or playing soccer with other teachers and Ticos!

I have a pretty eclectic education and professional background, I have an Associates of Science in General Studies, Bachelors of Arts in Sport Management, and a Masters of Business (MBA). 

I have worked in professional hockey and arena soccer; I have coached lacrosse for teams with players as young as 5 years old through college years; I’ve mowed lawns with my dad’s landscaping business; I’ve worked at an apple orchard; and I had a job as a purchasing assistant for a cutlery business. While I have learned and grown in each of those roles I have never felt like I was doing the job I was meant to until I started teaching English in July 2023. (except maybe coaching! That truly was fulfilling as well). 

I moved to Costa Rica in May of 2023 to get Teaching English as a Second Language (TEFL) certified and have loved every minute of living in this beautiful country. 

What I love most about what I do as a teacher is helping others reach their goals and make connections in another language. I know just how important this is because I have the goal to keep learning more and more Spanish every day, and the connections I make with people along the way are what help me the most. It’s always fun to share funny stories with students about our language ‘fails’ but also to share our WINS too!! 

I was drawn to Speak More for two reasons: the first being the way the other teachers talked about the program. Every teacher will tell you how supportive and encouraging this program is, it is a very special group of extremely passionate, dedicated, and loving teachers. Secondly, the individualized teaching style called my name. In coaching, I love being able to problem solve and figure out different ways for players to understand the concepts. Speak More allows for the same creativity and freedom to problem solve.