OUR MISSION

Providing students the opportunity to gain leadership skills, experience Spanish language immersion, and build lasting relationships through unique and authentic cultural exchanges

Becky Zatz

While I enjoyed learning Spanish in school, my passion for the language and culture emerged when I studied abroad in Spain during college in 2006. I started teaching Spanish and leading student trips in MCPS in 2009. I have always had a passion for language learning and value the ways that I have been able to connect to other people and their cultures with my language skills. I hope that these travel opportunities for students provide them unique experiences in which they can form lasting relationships with others and immerse themselves in a new culture. I have led service-based trips to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, El Salvador, and Peru. Each of these have been rewarding experiences, and I look forward to the next one!

Ben Krensky

I began traveling to Ecuador after college and eventually moved there to start a white water rafting company with some friends. After living there for a year, I returned to the United States and became a Special Education teacher in Montgomery County. I have always loved traveling and learning about new cultures. When I worked at Pyle Middle School, another teacher and I took students to Japan to travel and spend time with Japanese students in the northern prefecture of Iwate. When I moved to Walt Whitman High School, I looked for opportunities to travel with students to new countries. In 2016, Ms. Zatz and I realized we both have the same passion for travel and organized a service trip to Ecuador. The trip was successful and we began planning more service trips. Four years later, we now take students on service trips to Peru and Ecuador.