About Me

My name is Alexandra Skouras. I am 23 years old and a first year participant in the Auxiliares de Conversación Language Assistants Program.

In May 2019 I graduated from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland in the United States of America. I received a Bachelors of Arts degree with my two majors: Spanish and Biology. I also studied a minor in piano performance. Many people thought I was crazy for undertaking such a busy and difficult schedule, but I loved the satisfaction of receiving a widespread and diverse education through my different fields. For this reason, I decided to structure my final project around music. I incorporated my knowledge of music into a classroom setting in order to reinforce the ideas of a natural science class. I think music is a valuable tool for helping students achieve different types of learning. It also allows them to access and strengthen different parts of their brains in a fun, interactive manner.

I was born into an ethnically diverse and unique family. My mother was born in South Korea and was adopted by an American couple from Pennsylvania when she was 13 years old. My father was born in Greece and emigrated to the United States in his teenage years. Both of my parents maintained large portions of their cultures and heritages, which allowed me to grow up understanding and feeling deeply connected to my family’s history and background, despite having been born in the United States.

When I was 15 years old, I completed 4ESO in Barcelona, Spain through a study abroad program called AFS. It was a difficult experience because I lived away from the comfort and familiarity of my home for the duration of ten months. I completed my classes in Catalan and communicated with my host family in Spanish. This sparked yet another desire for me to explore and learn about cultures other than my own. I am so thrilled to be participating in this program where I am able to combine my pay experiences and apply what I learned. I think having experienced studying another language in another country, I have a deeper understanding of my students’ needs and more patience in helping them learn and acquire skills to continue learning.