Intrax International Institute Chicago Staff
The teachers and staff at Intrax Chicago are dedicated to their profession and their love of international education is evident the moment you enter our center. Many of our teachers are local Chicagoans who are very excited to have you experience their city and discover all it has to offer. The staff is dedicated to making your transition from your home country to our school as easy as possible. Our multi-cultural and intrepid staff understands what it's like to move to a new country. Here are some of the staff who currently work at our Intrax Center in Chicago.
Center Director
Susan
Center Director
Susan has been in the International Education field for over 15 years and brings with her a background in ESL teaching and teacher training as well as extensive work experience with the Asia region developing and running study abroad programs. Susan holds a Master's degree in International Education from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT and a BA in Marketing from Michigan State University. She has extensive experience traveling throughout South and Southeast Asia and has spent over seven years living and working in Thailand and Japan developing and coordinating education programs. Prior to Intrax International Institute, Susan worked at our Intrax Cultural Exchange San Francisco Headquarters. Sue brings to the Intrax team a background in ESL teaching, volunteer coordination and program development.
"Chicago is the adopted home town of President Obama; it's a great city with wonderful people. One of the greatest things about my job is getting to know our Intrax students. They come from all over the world and I can learn about their cultures and traditions. It makes coming to work every day fun and exciting! I hope to see you soon."
Staff
Cindie
Administrative Supervisor
Cindie joined Intrax in July 2007. She graduated from Southern Illinois University with an MBA, with a concentration on International Marketing. Prior to Intrax, Cindie worked 11 years for an international marketing firm. Throughout her career, Cindie has worked closely with people from all over the world. She has enjoyed being able to provide her expertise and also has benefitted by learning about new cultures and traditions around the world.
"As a former international student myself, I understand very well about how much harder international students have to work to achieve their dreams in the United States. I like to do my best to help them get closer to their success. It makes me feel a sense of accomplishment when I hear their successful stories."
Trey
Academic Supervisor
Trey started working as a teacher at Intrax in the summer of 2006. He is originally from Nashville, Tennessee and is a graduate of Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. He began his ESL teaching career in 1999 in The Czech Republic, and has since taught there, in Slovakia, and in France. Trey joined the administrative staff of Intrax Chicago as Academic Supervisor in July 2008.
"I love living in Chicago and think that it is a wonderful place for students to explore American culture and the English language. Like the city itself, the student body of Intrax Chicago is made up of amazing individuals from diverse backgrounds all with their own individual voices and talents and I'm so proud to be a part of it."
Beata
Internship Advisor
Growing up in Lithuania and being Polish, Beata developed a passion for culture and languages. She currently speaks four languages–Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, and English. With an expanded interest in international cultures, she decided to come to the US and study. She received her Master's in International Relations from La Salle University in Philadelphia. Her desire and passion for cultural exchange led her here, to Intrax where she has an opportunity to immerse herself in the richest of cultural environments.
"My job is exciting and I love communicating with international people. All too often, students embark on their subsequent careers with no knowledge of the workings of business and its relationship with the global economy–a serious deficit for the students and for their future employers. By incorporating my diverse cultural background and passion for the international languages, I have dedicated myself to preparing students for careers in the global work-place by building bridges between the worlds of academia and international business and enabling students to respond to the global economy and injecting passion and practicality into their life experience."
Becky
Accommodations Advisor
Becky was born and raised in Pittsburgh where she studied Japanese and Political Science. She moved overseas to Japan and taught as an ESL teacher. After returning to America and moving to Chicago, she wanted to continue impacting the lives of student in the education field. After joining the Intrax Chicago Center, Becky found her chance by overseeing the accommodations program. She loves connecting international students with American families through the Homestay Program and promoting cultural awareness.
"In today's world, it's more important than ever to promote cultural awareness–the best way being through education! The atmosphere of our school reflects our mission to do just that thanks to the dedication and hard work of the staff and teachers. We can't wait to welcome new students and help them achieve their goals!"
Mbali
Student Services Supervisor
Mbali joined Intrax in Feb 2009 as Student Services Supervisor. Mbali truly understands the international student experience since she went through a similar process. Originally from South Africa, Mbali came to Chicago in 1990 to study at Dominican University. Mbali has traveled to Italy, Netherlands, France and the Caribbean. She has worked in various fields, including culinary arts, college admissions, and recently foreign affairs.
"My goal is to make our students' experience as fun and enriching as possible so that they will always have great memories of Intrax!"
Teachers
Tom
Lead Teacher
After two and a half years with Intrax, Tom was appointed Lead Teacher. He has been teaching English since 2000 and holds a Cambridge CELTA in addition to a BA in Communications. Highly skilled in teaching grammar, vocabulary building, and pronunciation, Tom incorporates a full range of methods and appeals to visual, aural and kinesthetic learners.
Rachel
Teacher
Rachel became interested in ESL when she traveled to Europe for six months and realized for the first time that so many people wanted to study English. After returning to Chicago and leaving Corporate America, she started her career path in ESL. Rachel graduated in 2001 from Purdue University with a B.A. in Business: Finance and Marketing. She received her CELTA in 2005. Rachel first joined Intrax in 2005. Working both in Chicago at Intrax and in Milan, Italy with a mission organization over the last four years Rachel has performed various roles. At Intrax, she has enjoyed working as Housing and Activities Coordinator, Summer Program Co-coordinator, Evening Supervisor and Instructor. During this time, Rachel also spent many months in Milan, Italy where she taught English and started an ESL ministry called EuroSpeak Ministries. Rachel loves teaching most of all and loves all the relationships and friendships she makes around the world.
"ESL is a great career because there's always something new and exciting to learn and experience while also helping people reach their goal of learning English!"
