Allison Hradecky

Born and raised on southern hospitality, Allison calls Sugar Land, Texas home. Growing up in a wonderfully large family, Allison fell in love with traveling more and more with each trip she ...

Born and raised on southern hospitality, Allison calls Sugar Land, Texas home. Growing up in a wonderfully large family, Allison fell in love with traveling more and more with each trip she took to visit relatives and friends all over the country. The idea of studying abroad had always appealed to her, but it wasn’t until her time at the University of Houston did she seriously consider it a possibility. In the fall of 2010, Allison’s Spanish class was visited by Sol Education Abroad and learned about all of their amazing programs and was hooked. That day she went home and decided it was time to step out of her comfort zone and go on an adventure. Before she knew it, she was in Buenos Aires, Argentina having the time of her life. After her three week program had ended, she decided that it wasn’t enough time! That following summer she signed up for another Sol adventure in Granada, Spain. Her time abroad was the highlight of her collegiate experience and opened her eyes to what international travel can teach you. After graduation, Allison worked in the marketing and public relations world for about three years before deciding to follow her passion and pursue a career in international education. She joined to Sol team in the spring of 2015 and is thrilled to help others go abroad, learn Spanish, and have the experience of a lifetime! Allison loves being around water, whether it be at a beach or by a lake, practicing yoga, enjoying a glass of red wine with friends, and trying new foods!
Email: [email protected]
University Attended: University of Houston (Houston)
Year Graduated: 2013

Brent Hunter

Brent Hunter was raised in Brenham, a small town in central Texas. As a high school student he developed a passionate interest in the Spanish language. Beyond his love of language, he also t...

Brent Hunter was raised in Brenham, a small town in central Texas. As a high school student he developed a passionate interest in the Spanish language. Beyond his love of language, he also took great interest in the outdoors and environmental conservation. As a result of these interests, Brent studied at the University of Texas at Austin, where he double-majored in Field Biology and Spanish Linguistics. He later completed an MBA in International Business at St. Edward's University, also located in Austin. It was not until college that Brent discovered the inspiring possibilities offered by study abroad programs. For his first experience, he traveled to Mérida, Venezuela on a summer study abroad program. Later, he completed his MBA coursework while studying abroad in Costa Rica. He has been hooked on the importance of study abroad ever since! Brent has always enjoyed working with students and is a natural guide. As an Eagle Scout he worked during the summers as a counselor at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Brent has worked for many years now as an overseas program director for student groups in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Spain. He loves sharing unique cultures and places with others. Brent's other interests include hiking, rock climbing, yoga, biking, art, and reading contemporary Spanish literature.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brentsol
University Attended: The University of Texas at Austin, St. Edward's University
Year Graduated: 1998
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Elisha Smith

Elisha was born and raised in Austin, Texas. Initially enrolling at Texas A&M University to pursue Physical Therapy, she became involved with a group on campus that facilitated events an...

Elisha was born and raised in Austin, Texas. Initially enrolling at Texas A&M University to pursue Physical Therapy, she became involved with a group on campus that facilitated events and conversation between US and International Students. This was such a great experience that Elisha decided to follow a degree path that highlighted her love for other cultures; she graduated in 2011 with a degree in International Studies with an emphasis in Communication and Media Studies. Elisha is also a Sol Alumni! She spent the Spring Semester of 2010 studying abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico. This was one of the highlights of her college experience and she still keeps in-touch with her host family and Oaxacan friends. Her experience ignited a passion to encourage others to get out of their comfort zone and explore another culture. After graduation, Elisha moved back to Austin and worked for a tech startup for a year and a half. She managed recruiting and worked on marketing outreach projects. Elisha joined the Sol Team in May 2013 and is thrilled to have the opportunity to fulfill her passion for helping students go abroad! Elisha spends her free time doing anything active, including half-marathons, pick-up soccer, and dancing to 80?s music in her apartment!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elisha.smith.545?fref=ts
University Attended: Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas)
Year Graduated: 2011
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Erica Embury

Erica was born and raised in Elk River, Minnesota. She was first introduced to the Spanish language thanks to massive crushes on Enrique Iglesias and Juanes as well as having a wonderful Spa...

Erica was born and raised in Elk River, Minnesota. She was first introduced to the Spanish language thanks to massive crushes on Enrique Iglesias and Juanes as well as having a wonderful Spanish teacher in high school. She continued her pursuit of the Spanish language at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN where she double-majored in Spanish and Communication/Journalism. During her freshman year, Erica was first bitten by the travel bug when she studied abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico and completely fell in love with the Spanish language, culture and people. She continued her travels into her sophomore and junior year and studied abroad again in Seville, Spain twice; living in a country of tapas, siestas and flamenco, what’s not to love?! Finally, her senior year, she completed her studies abroad with a program in Havana, Cuba. After graduation, Erica knew she wanted to stay connected to the Spanish community, so she immediately began working at an immigration law firm where she helped Spanish-speaking immigrants on their path toward American citizenship. Since then, Erica found her place in the study abroad field and hasn’t looked back. Having the opportunity to help students on their own journeys abroad is a dream come true!
Email: [email protected]
University Attended: University of St. Thomas (St. Paul)
Year Graduated: 2014

Erick Batres

Erick was born and raised by his Salvadoran family in Houston, Texas. He studied at Texas A&M University and graduated in 2015 with a degree in International Studies with an emphasis in ...

Erick was born and raised by his Salvadoran family in Houston, Texas. He studied at Texas A&M University and graduated in 2015 with a degree in International Studies with an emphasis in Commerce. During his time at A&M, Erick was encouraged to travel to Central America, and he ended up traveling with Sol Education Abroad to Heredia, Costa Rica in the Fall of 2014. His first time in Latin America was eye-opening, and life-changing, allowing him to gain more experience with the culture and fully appreciate the differences in the world. After returning from Costa Rica, Erick graduated and shortly thereafter, started working for Sol Education in Austin. Erick has also traveled to England and France. He is an avid sports fan, his favorite being futbol and college football, but he also watches all other sports. He also enjoys biking, running and trying different foods and beers.
Email: [email protected]
University Attended: Texas A&M Univesrity (College Station)
Year Graduated: 2015

Esteban Lardone

Esteban Lardone was born in Patagonia, southern Argentina. With his mother being a history teacher, Esteban began reading Latin American literature at a very early age, falling in love with ...

Esteban Lardone was born in Patagonia, southern Argentina. With his mother being a history teacher, Esteban began reading Latin American literature at a very early age, falling in love with his native Spanish language. He was fortunate enough to attend high school in Norway when he moved there with his family. This experience sparked his passion for the outdoors, and he spent most of his weekends exploring the fjords near his home. His last year of high school was completed in Mexico City, and after graduation he spent the summer backpacking and kayaking his way through Baja California. Esteban attended the University of Texas at Austin, obtaining a degree in Management Information Systems. Upon graduating, Esteban worked for several years in the corporate tech environment, but increasing travel to various parts of the globe saw him eventually transition from the cubicle life to pursue a career in study abroad programs. He has worked as onsite directors in all 4 our locations and knows our programs like the back of his hand. Esteban became a study abroad director for Sol Education Abroad in 2005. Esteban has a passion for the Spanish language, loves to rock climb, teaches yoga in his spare time, and helps run a non-profit organization in the coffee growing region of México.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/estebanlardone
University Attended: The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas)
Year Graduated: 2001
Languages Spoken: Portuguese, Spanish

Ginger Joyner

Ginger Joyner was born in Illinois and has lived in many states as well as one station in Jakarta, Indonesia before settling down on Texas for a permanent residence. She obtained her MBA in...

Ginger Joyner was born in Illinois and has lived in many states as well as one station in Jakarta, Indonesia before settling down on Texas for a permanent residence. She obtained her MBA in Accounting through the University of Phoenix in 2007 while working in the Accounting field for both big and small entities in a variety of industries. In 2010 she started her own bookkeeping business as part of one of her life-long dreams. She now lives with her husband and teenage son along with four wonderful Great Danes in the beautiful hill country outside Austin, TX. For relaxation she likes to ride her motorcycle with her husband, carpentry and read a good book.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com
University Attended: University of Phoenix (Phoenix)
Year Graduated: 2007
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Hong Tran

Hong Tran has been running Sol Education Abroad's accounting department since 2005 and is a key member of our team....

Hong Tran has been running Sol Education Abroad's accounting department since 2005 and is a key member of our team.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Austin.Dad?fref=ts
University Attended: The University of Texas at Austin (Austin)
Year Graduated: 2000
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Olive

Olive is originally from Canada but is now a naturalized Texan. Her time abroad prepared her for her role as Chief Morale Coordinator at SOL. Olive’s positive energy and relaxed attitude h...

Olive is originally from Canada but is now a naturalized Texan. Her time abroad prepared her for her role as Chief Morale Coordinator at SOL. Olive’s positive energy and relaxed attitude help SOL coordinators provide the very best level of customer service on a daily basis. Olive looks forward to meeting you at SOL Headquarters and letting you rub her belly for good luck on your program abroad!
Email: [email protected]
University Attended: University of Texas (Austin)
Year Graduated: 2010
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Raul Garza

Raul is SOL's creative mind! Our catalogue, our website and our content originates here....

Raul is SOL's creative mind! Our catalogue, our website and our content originates here.
Email: [email protected]
University Attended: St. Edward's University (Austin)
Year Graduated: 2001
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Stephanie Piña

Stephanie was born and raised in El Paso, TX in a household that always had loud ranchera and balada music since both of her parents are from Mexico and wanted for her to grow up knowing abo...

Stephanie was born and raised in El Paso, TX in a household that always had loud ranchera and balada music since both of her parents are from Mexico and wanted for her to grow up knowing about her culture. She is the oldest of 3, has a younger sister and brother. She has always dreamed of becoming a Longhorn since she was in the 7th grade and in 2010 she became the first in her family to graduate from high school and attend a four-year university. At UT Austin, she double majored in Government and International Relations & Global Studies, and double minored in Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Studies. During her time at UT Stephanie was involved in many student organizations, work-study, and early onto her academic career she focused on becoming a trilingual by learning Brazilian Portuguese. In fall of 2013, she studied abroad in Porto Alegre, Brazil on an exchange program with UT. She decided to do a semester abroad to better her language skills and become an effective trilingual. She loved it there so much that midway through her program she decided to extend her stay in Brazil for another semester! In the spring of 2014, Stephanie finished her year abroad in Belo Horizonte, Brazil where she was blessed with the opportunity to immerse herself into that region' culture and adapt to the local lingo! Upon returning to the States, Stephanie accepted a position with Study Abroad at UT as a Peer Advisor where she absolutely fell in love with the field of international education. Her experiences abroad and with UT Study Abroad is what ultimately led her to join the Dream Team at SOL upon graduating from UT in the spring of 2015. She is not only thrilled about working with SOL, she is elated to be staying in Austin, but is mostly excited about paying it forward to students who also dream about studying abroad. Stephanie is the biggest dog lover, she has 3 Chihuahua dogs back in El Paso, loves to cook her mom’s Mexican recipes, is a major sports fan (Baseball, Soccer, you name it), and is obsessed with Shakira, Brazilian Sertanejo singer/songwriter Luan Santana, Juanes, and of course, country music. She also loves meeting new people who are passionate about investing in their international education. So if you are one who has never left the country, or if you are looking to going abroad for a third time, Stephanie would love to talk to you today!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010012684118
University Attended: The University of Texas at Austin (Austin)
Year Graduated: 2015
Languages Spoken: Spanish