Lindsey Gatlin is a TEFL certified teacher from California. She has been living and working in Spain for over 2 years. She possesses a B.S. in Marine Science with a minor in General Biology and a graduate degree in Geographic Information Systems. Prior to moving to Spain, she was a high school substitute teacher and soccer coach.
What is your favorite travel memory?
My favorite travel memory is when I visited Europe for the first time in 2016.
Before this moment, I had never been across the Atlantic and I had a friend doing a study abroad program here in Madrid. My cousin and I spent two weeks visiting Madrid, Lisboa, Portugal, and Dublin, Ireland. During this trip, I absolutely fell in love with Europe. I loved the relaxed atmosphere of Madrid, the culture in Portugal, and the views in Ireland. Everything seemed so different than my California suburb.
This experience sparked my love of travel and inspired me to make the move permanent.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
The best story that I have heard comes from working with the Exam Madrid side of the academy.
Being a GRE/GMAT teacher, I encounter students with dreams to continue their education and apply and be competitive in their school of choice. Most of my students are looking to continue their education and every now and then at very prestigious schools in the United States. Learning that they have reached their desired score is always good to hear and one time an engineering student came back stating that she received almost a perfect score in the Quantitative Reasoning section.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
I would choose to take my TEFL Certificate here.
I think that in the English language there is so much to learn from grammar to content to stylistic choices for expression. Sitting in on a TEFL course again will allow me to further my understanding of the English language. Furthermore, I always enjoy sitting in on teachers and seeing their techniques to convey a message or lesson.
Another course that I would like to take is the TOEFL course. Part of me is interested in how I would test in my own language.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
One thing that makes our academy unique is that we have a partner academy.
Many of our graduates have started working in our academy in many different capacities. In addition, I think our company is unique because we are always trying to provide better service and preparing our students for life in Spain. Recently, we have been updating our curriculum to provide a more comprehensive program.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
I think that there are a few key factors in making a successful company. The first are the people that surround you. One, making sure that you have good rapport and open communication with your staff and supervisors. One thing that I learned playing soccer and have taught my players when I coached is that “If you do your job and half of someone else’s, we’re going to be alright.” In a company, I believe the same applies.
Another factor is the desire to recognize weaknesses and striving so solve and improve them. A company has to be open to change, and open with the students that they serve.
