New Teachers at Ambrit 2010-2011
Richard Hough
My name is Richard Hough and I will be teaching Grade 4 this coming September. Last year I was a teacher at Rome International School and the year before I taught in Milan and hope to carry on working in Italy for a long time. I have been a teacher now for ten years and have been involved in many areas, including sports development that involved working with Manchester United for a period. As well as teaching in Rome, I also like to act and sing and have joined "Arts in English", a small non-profit organisation from Ostia that has helped me improve my Italian over the last year and make many Italian friends. I was also involved in theatre while living and working in the UK. I am really looking forward to being a part of Ambrit Rome and look forward to meeting everyone when I arrive.
Dan Cox
I grew up in the United States, Britain and Germany and have been living in Rome for five years. During those five years I taught at Rome International School and before that I worked for two years at Laycock Primary School in London. I graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Comparative Literature and gained my PGCE at the Institute of Education. My interests are varied and include playing tennis, DJing, cooking and writing. I am excited about coming to work at Ambrit and look forward to meeting you in August!
Aiveen Gorman
My name is Aiveen Gorman. I am a 24 year old primary school teacher from Dublin, Ireland. I graduated in 2007 from St. Patrick's College, Dublin with an honours degree in Primary Education. I have been teaching in a large multicultural school in Dublin for the last three years.
I have obtained Facilitator and Co-ordinator status in the 'Rainbows' programme, an international organisation that fosters emotional healing among children grieving a loss from death or separation. I have been running courses for two years and have helped almost 50 children through their time of difficulty.
I love travelling and experiencing new cultures. I have been lucky enough to see many parts of the world, the most rewarding has been my recent trips to Uganda to work in an orphanage. I am so excited to be living and working in Rome as it holds a special place in my heart having spent many happy childhood Summers there visiting family. I have six nieces and nephews who I adore to spoil!
During my time teaching I have gained valuable experience in Early Childhood Education and I cannot wait to get started with my Kindergarten class. I am very much looking forward to being a part of the Ambrit team and to meeting you all!
Erik Suspanic
I graduated this past May from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina with a B.A. in Political Science. I was born and raised in New York City and have two younger brothers. Over the past four years I have worked as a part-time teacher’s assistant at a local kindergarten in New York and as a tutor at Davidson for Middle and High School students, where my interest in teaching originated. I spent last spring studying abroad in Florence and am excited to return to Italy as a member of Ambrit-Rome.
Margaret Pringle
I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, but moved with my family to London, England where I attended high school at the American School in London. From there I went to Brown University in the US and spent a year in Bologna, Italy. After graduating with a BA in Urban Studies and a BA in Italian Studies, I moved to Milan to complete a 2-year Masters program in Interior Design. I then moved down to Rome and have been here for the past 13 years, 4 of which I spent teaching PE and Social Studies at Marymount. I recently completed a teacher certification program and obtained a Masters Degree in Education with a Social Studies specialization.
Duncan, my husband, and I enjoy cooking, traveling, eating out and watching football together. I have spent the past 2 years being a full time mother to our 2-year-old daughter, Marley. I am very much looking forward to getting back into the classroom and being a part of Ambrit's bright future.
Sascia Ciavarella
My name is Sascia Ciavarella and I'm 33 years old. I was born and raised in Canada and I have been living in Rome since 2001. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Laurentian University in northern Ontario and I also hold an advanced TESOL teacher certificate and international English Teacher license. I have over 10 years experience working as a health educator and teacher in England, Italy and Canada in areas rich in cultural diversity. In my spare time, I enjoy exploring Rome, traveling, studying art history, reading and baking. I am looking forward to joining the Ambrit community.
Elinor Flynn
I am 23 year-old native of Dallas, Texas. I attended boarding school at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, and was fortunate enough to have wonderful, inspiring teachers who made me realize I might want to be a teacher myself one day. After Deerfield, I attended Princeton University, where I majored in English with an emphasis on Modernist literature. I also took three years of Italian and spent one summer studying in Florence. Having just graduated this past June, I am spending my summer traveling in Europe with friends, reading, scrapbooking, and anticipating my move to Rome. I am looking forward to teaching 4th grade in the PYP program and immersing myself in la vita italiana.
Carolyn Rathjen
I moved to Rome from Boston in October 2009. I received my teaching certification while working as an Early Childhood Mental Health & Disabilities Specialist in a preschool program in Massachusetts where I specialized in early childhood social-emotional development and collaborated with families around issues involving child learning disabilities, managing challenging behaviors, family conflict, stress and anxiety reduction, and child welfare. During this time I developed and facilitated a six-week Transition to Kindergarten curriculum for children and families. I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). I received my Masters in Clinical Social Work from Simmons School of Social Work in Boston in 2007. In 2000, I received my BFA cum laude in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College in Boston. I have additionally worked with children and families as a counselor in a therapeutic day school setting and as a family and individual therapist in various outpatient mental health settings in the greater Boston area. Outside of my time teaching at Ambrit, I currently provide therapy to children and families at the Ohana Counseling Center in Rome.
