Last spring, this blog highlighted the retirement of long-time Proctor en Segovia co-directors Derek and Eva Mansell. Their role in developing a sustainable abroad program for Proctor Academy students was integral to the popularity and success of that program. This fall, Mikaela Buldoc and Ryan Graumann take over the reigns as new co-directors of Proctor en Segovia, demonstrating a tremendous enthusiasm for the program during their first month abroad.



Mikaela's experiences teaching French and Spanish on campus for the past three years are supplemented by Ryan's experiences working for an investment firm and studying at the University of Salamanca during his undergraduate years, providing a unique, complimentary skill set that will serve Proctor's students incredibly well as they step out of their comfort zones to study abroad.



This fall, nine students are living with host families, studying Spanish literature, language and history and becoming accustomed to new cultural surroundings. Mikaela and Ryan have started an in-depth blog of the group's activities abroad, updating each week from a different student's perspective.



Mikaela and Ryan comment, "Every one of our students should be proud of his or her accomplishments thus far. This group is positive, open-minded, enthusiastic, curious, goofy - everything that we, as program directors, could have hoped for." The group's first weeks have been spent exploring Segovia, working through the normal adjustments to living with a host family in another culture, and getting a feel for the academic rigor accompanying Spanish language, history, and literature classes that are the focus of each day. Currently, they are traveling and studying in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, learning about a different region and all it has to offer.


While the true benefits of studying abroad are rarely recognized by students until they return home, as this blog post discussed, each individual is encouraged to reflect on his or her own growth throughout the term. This maturation as a student, a citizen of the world, and as a responsible individual is the product of the entire experience abroad. To read weekly updates from the group, visit their blog by clicking HERE! Also check out this past week's video update from Segovia below!