Program Support

The Georgetown University program at the different Spanish universities (UCM and Comillas) is supervised by a Program Director and a Housing Coordinator. Program participants have the staff's home phone numbers as well as the office phones and these are readily available for regular and emergency issues. The staff are available via whatsapp, in the UCM program office or by appointment.

Ani and Miky at the 25th anniversary celebration

PROGRAM STAFF:

Program Resident Director:  Ana (Ani) Flys Junquera  

Ana Flys holds a Master in Spanish Civilization from Bowling Green State University and a BA in Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art (Temple U). She has worked for a number of University and High School study abroad programs in different capacities, including that of director, instructor and organizer since 1985. For eight years, Ani also coordinated the Association of North American Programs in Spain.  She designed, initiated and has run the Georgetown University program from its beginning in 1991.

Outside the academic world, Ani enjoys touring monuments and cities, jewelry making and martial arts. She is married to a musician and has two sons (Daniel and Paul). 

Program Assistant:  Carmen (Miky) de Miguel Reyes

Miky de Miguel holds a licenciatura en grado in Biology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.  She has been in her position since 1995. She assists students in different aspects like identifying housing options, health care, legal paperwork, etc..

She is married and has two children (Iñaki and Blanca). Her husband, is a physician and is often a valuable asset to program students, offering a second opinion where cases demand it, and adding that extra attention that is so welcoming to students in a foreign environment.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:

Academic advisors

The Resident Director as well as other professors (depending on the university) assist students when choosing classes at registration. The Deans on home campus have the final word on their class choice and the credits these classes will bear.

Tutors

All participants are encouraged to have a tutor for each class. These can be either classmates or graduate students and are paid for by the program.

WORKSHOPS:

Academic Writing workshop and SIELE exam prepartion:

Students participate in a Spanish language workshop that meets during the orientation period as a group, and individually throughout the rest of the semester. The professors help student fine-tune their papers and oral presentations required by their credit-bearing classes.

We encourage students to consider taking the SIELE exam (Instituto Cervante's official Spanish language diploma) while they are in Spain since towards the end of their stay, their Spanish level will probably be at its strongest as an undergraduate. The program provides assistance and special tutorials for this exam that is offered both in the Fall and in the Spring. Most students test at B2 or C1 level. This opportunity also show tangible learning outcomes of their passage through the program.

Intercultural Competance Workshops:

All students attend both cultural adaptation and re-entry to the USA workshops to help them with their adjustment between cultures. During the intitial orientation period, we focus on cultural difference and bridging the gap. Before leaving Spain, the program addresses re-entry issues as well as how their experience can be expressed in the professional field (CVs, in job interviews....).

Students interesting in maximizing their intercultural skills are encouraged to participate in a semester/year long coaching tutorial offered by Intercultural Understanding. Participants take the Intercultural Diversity Inventory (IDI) exam that measures their competence twice, at the begining and at the end of their stay. Students receive feedback sessions with the test results and coaching to help them improve their intercultural skills. The great majority show great improvement over the period.