What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
People, including leaders, are what bring success to a company. This success depends heavily on human resources and the strategies used in this field. It is difficult to innovate and develop attractive products and services without qualified and motivated people. Leaders and teams with values, qualities and strengthened capacities for projection are key to meeting targets. Because of that, it is really important to have on the job training and courses provided to all members of the team.
What country have you always wanted to visit?
I am grateful to be able to say that I have travelled a lot through out my life, but there are many places still left that I want to see. I believe that travelling for work and for pleasure is a key part of learning and understanding the planet we live on and the people we share this world with. If I had to choose a place to go right now then I would choose Patagonia. I have always wanted to visit the National Park Perito Moreno which is home to one of the most famous and impressive glaciers.
Why is language learning and cultural immersion important to you?
It is life changing. Cultural immersion offers us a great opportunity for personal and social development. Getting to know the culture of another country and understand daily life in other places, allows us to change our vision of the world and of ourselves. It is also a way of knowing ourselves and learning how to manage certain situations and new opportunities. Traveling, meeting new people and new cultures helps us define our personality and discover new values. Without understanding other cultures we can never really experience life fully. To close yourself off to other cultures is to close yourself off to ideas, innovation, experience. Many people travel without fully immersing themselves. I am here to encourage our students to live like we live in Spain. Of course sometimes you might want to eat your traditional food, but while on the program we encourage everyone to eat Spanish food, learn Spanish phrases and understand our history and culture.
What was your favorite traveling experience?
I travelled around India and that was an incredible experience for me. I learnt a lot about many human values. It taught me (forced me to learn!) how to do the “switch” in my mind to drop my Western patterns in so many senses. It offered me the great opportunity to get under the skin of many people of all kinds and classes. It is an experience that I have repeated for several years and that has changed my worldview. Nevertheless, India is just one example of many. I really believe that our favorite travelling experience should be, and probably is, simply the act of travelling. There is no right or wrong destination because everywhere has something to offer us in terms of experiential learning. Some things will affect us more than others, perhaps the food in one place, the kindness of the people in another place, but it is the act of travelling that will enrich our lives.
What language have you always wanted to learn and why?
I always wanted to learn English and I am very proud that I was able to learn it because it is a key tool for communication when you are abroad. English enriches your experience of knowing the world and it is a must in a CV. Apart from English, of course I believe that my mother tongue, Spanish, is a very important language because it is spoken in so many different countries and means that I have been able to talk to people all over The Americas. Apart from those two key languages, I would love to learn a language with a different alphabet because I think it could be a great challenge for me and language learning is great ‘exercise’ for your brain!