Orlando Murillo

Orlando Murillo Castro was born in Costa Rica’s capital of San José, but was raised in the picturesque town of Atenas where the Sol Abroad program is based. For as long as he can remember...

Orlando Murillo Castro was born in Costa Rica’s capital of San José, but was raised in the picturesque town of Atenas where the Sol Abroad program is based. For as long as he can remember Orlando has been in direct contact with study abroad students because his family has been housing students in their beautiful home for over a decade. This exposed him to different cultures from a young age and allowed him to learn English from very early on. He is currently studying Law at the Universidad Escuela Libre de Derecho. Orlando knows exactly what you’ll be going through living in a new country. He participated in a study abroad program to the US where he lived with an American host family in Tallahassee, FL and attended Florida State University for a semester. So he definitely understands everything involved in the study abroad experience! Orlando’s hobbies include everything related to nature; from hiking to the top of Costa Rica’s tallest mountain, Chirripó, to guiding students through Costa Rica’s famous rain forests. Another one of his passions is art. Both Orlando’s father and brother are medical doctors and his sister is a nutritionist. He feels very lucky to have grown up in such a healthy environment! Orlando loves being active and enjoys soccer, volleyball & swimming.
Email: [email protected]
University Attended: Universidad Escuela Libre de Derecho (San Jose, Costa Rica)
Year Graduated: 2014
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Mercedes Arias

Mercedes is a native of Atenas, Costa Rica and is the director and founder of ATESA, the Atenas Spanish School. The school and her home are both on a traditional farm that has been in her fa...

Mercedes is a native of Atenas, Costa Rica and is the director and founder of ATESA, the Atenas Spanish School. The school and her home are both on a traditional farm that has been in her family for generations. Mercedes received her degree in Spanish Literature and Grammar from the prestigious National University in Heredia, Costa Rica. Upon graduating, she was immediately hired by the Peace Corps to teach Spanish to volunteers. She also coordinated the placement of these volunteers throughout the country. Later, she taught high school in Atenas for many years and continued to teach Spanish to foreigners. In 2004 she began receiving volunteer programs and since that point has dedicated herself full time to teaching Spanish to foreigners and coordinating volunteer placements throughout Costa Rica. Mercedes is married to Miguel Arias and has two lovely daughters, Noelia and Melissa.
Email: [email protected]
University Attended: National University in Heredia
Year Graduated: 2000
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Derrick Ryan

Derrick was born in Minnesota but has lived in Spain, Chile and Mexico as a child, teenager and adult. His interest in language and culture started at a young age when he learned of Concordi...

Derrick was born in Minnesota but has lived in Spain, Chile and Mexico as a child, teenager and adult. His interest in language and culture started at a young age when he learned of Concordia Language Villages (CLV), a Spanish immersion program located in several locations throughout the USA. Since then, he has been a counselor as well as a high school credit Spanish teacher at CLV. He received his B.A. at the American University in Washington, D.C. in Spanish Linguistics, Secondary Education and Translation and then went on to earn his M.A. in Spanish Linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He also studied at la Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile. He has worked for the United States Senate as a translator (Spanish) and an interpreter (Spanish and American Sign Language), LADO International College as the Spanish Program Director as well as with many community service organizations in the Washington, D.C. area such as CentroNía, la Clínica del Pueblo and the Latin American Youth Center. Derrick is also a certified and practicing high school Spanish teacher in Maryland and just completed a year-long teacher exchange through the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program teaching English, Educational Psychology and Pedagogy at la Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas in Tapachula, Mexico. Derrick´s interests include hiking, camping, traveling, volunteering, translating, reading, playing the piano and second language acquisition.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DKRBardem
University Attended: Georgetown University, American University
Year Graduated: 2006
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Janiva Cifuentes-Hiss

A graduate of Pomona College in Latin American Studies, Janiva Cifuentes-Hiss has dedicated her career to leading life-changing journeys throughout the planet. Over the past eight years Jani...

A graduate of Pomona College in Latin American Studies, Janiva Cifuentes-Hiss has dedicated her career to leading life-changing journeys throughout the planet. Over the past eight years Janiva has led study abroad and volunteer programs in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Spain. Her adventures have taken her to volunteer in an Indigenous community in the Amazon, practice yoga on the banks of the Ganges, vision quest in Patagonia, safari in East Africa, scuba dive off of the Bay Islands, and trek to the Mayan ruins of Tikal and Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. She has led multiple volunteer programs focusing on sea turtle conservation, environmental education, sustainable development and organic farming in Costa Rica. Born and raised in Olympia, Washington, Janiva´s passion for travel began at an early age when she lived with her extended family in Bogotá, Colombia. In high school, she traveled to Japan with her host sister and Japanese teacher. She went on to study abroad in college in Salamanca, Spain where she enrolled in Spanish and Latin American Literature and History and traveled to France, Italy, and Portugal. A freelance writer, Janiva has been published in The Tico Times, The Encyclopedia Latina, and the Exploring Costa Rica Travel Guide. She also served as a video editor with Super Natural Adventures, a children's show about nature and the environment in Costa Rica. Her interests include meditation, yoga, permaculture, biointensive agriculture, cooking, piano and guitar. She is first aid and CPR ceritifed and has served as Costa Rica Director with Sol Education Abroad since 2007.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vivajaniva
University Attended: Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Year Graduated: 2005
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Diego Baquero

Diego is the assistant director and co-founder of ATESA. He has a love of languages and teaches Spanish, French, and ESL! Diego graduated with a degree in Spanish from the University of Cost...

Diego is the assistant director and co-founder of ATESA. He has a love of languages and teaches Spanish, French, and ESL! Diego graduated with a degree in Spanish from the University of Costa Rica located in San José. He also received a degree in French from the Alliance Francaise. Currently, Diego is studying at the National University in Heredia to obtain his Master’s degree in Translation. His international teaching destinations have been in Canada, the USA, and in Europe. Diego was a teaching fellow at Hamilton College in upstate New York and he worked as a volunteer in France for a year. Currently, Atenas is Diego happy home!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juandiego.barqueroarce
University Attended: University of Costa Rica
Year Graduated: 2005
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Fabio Viquez

Fabio is a native of Atenas, Costa Rica. After attending high school there he studied English at the North American Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano - CCCN) on a...

Fabio is a native of Atenas, Costa Rica. After attending high school there he studied English at the North American Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano - CCCN) on a scholarship. Since he was very young, Fabio has been interested in technology, sports, wildlife and dance. He has studied technology at both the University of Costa Rica and the National University of Costa Rica, the two top universities in the country. Due to his interest and passion in dance, Fabio has actually worked with Sol Abroad as our Latin dance instructor for many years! One of the most interesting experiences for Fabio was traveling to nearby Nicaragua and meeting extended family there. Fabio is very personable and loves meeting people from other cultures. He is very passionate about his country; especially known for its peace and nature. Fabio looks forward to assisting and accompanying you while on this amazing experience studying abroad!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabio.viquez.7
University Attended: University of Costa Rica, National University of Costa Rica
Year Graduated: 2009
Languages Spoken: Spanish

María Guerrero

María Guerrero María is a bilingual education teacher and graduate from the University of Science and Technology of Costa Rica (ULACIT) in San José. She has worked in elementary and ...

María Guerrero María is a bilingual education teacher and graduate from the University of Science and Technology of Costa Rica (ULACIT) in San José. She has worked in elementary and high school settings teaching both English and Spanish as a foreign language. María has been an active member of both ATESA and Sol Abroad proving herself a skillful teacher of Spanish for Foreigners.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maria.guerrero.75873
University Attended: University of Science and Technology of Costa Rica
Year Graduated: 2006
Languages Spoken: Spanish

María Molina

María Molina was born in Alajuela, Costa Rica but grew up in the town of Atenas on the Pacific slope. She graduated from the Liceo de Atenas in 2003, where she was involved in many cultural...

María Molina was born in Alajuela, Costa Rica but grew up in the town of Atenas on the Pacific slope. She graduated from the Liceo de Atenas in 2003, where she was involved in many cultural activities such as salsa dance classes and theater performances. In 2006, she received her degree in Costa Rican Tourism at the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, and is currently working on a second degree in Business Administration. María has worked as an onsite director with Sol Abroad since 2007. From spring 2009 to spring 2010 María participated in an Au Pair program to improve her English skills. She lived near Baltimore, MD and was able to travel all over the US during her stay. This was an incredible opportunity to experience the country where the majority of the Sol students come from. Maria also lived for a few months in the Netherlands and has travelled to France, Belgium, Holland, Nicaragua and Panama. In her free time María loves studying languages, dancing, reading, drawing and going to the theater in San José whenever possible. She loves Latin American literature! Her favorite authors are Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende. She also is passionate about ecological conservation and is a member of Apreflofas, a non-profit dedicated to the conservation of land and wildlife in Costa Rica. María is very proud of her country and culture and looks forward to sharing it with you! She lives in Heredia, just a few blocks from the Universidad Latina.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariaMolinaEspinoza
University Attended: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (San Jose, Costa Rica)
Year Graduated: 2005
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Priscilla Arias

Priscilla Arias is an assistant staff member for ATESA. She has a degree in Bilingual Education and works as a teacher at the Green Valley School, which is a private bilingual school in the ...

Priscilla Arias is an assistant staff member for ATESA. She has a degree in Bilingual Education and works as a teacher at the Green Valley School, which is a private bilingual school in the Atenas area. Priscilla also teaches Spanish classes for ATESA and holds certifications in teaching Spanish as a second language. Her most recent certification is from the British Institute (Instituto Britanico) of Costa Rica. Priscilla has a wonderful energy and has a passion for working with people from other countries and sharing everything she knows about her native Costa Rica!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pariascarballo
University Attended: British Institute of Costa Rica
Year Graduated: 2012
Languages Spoken: Spanish