Karen Speich was raised in the Twin Cities and after graduating from Augsburg College with a B.A. in Communications she travelled extensively through Latin America. Her love of Latin cultures brought her to Spain where she taught English in an immersion setting. Her passion for the language drove her to continue her studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and after 4 years of living in Spain she received a Master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont/Madrid. Upon her return home she worked for a company funded by the Mexican government to promote Mexican tourism in the United States. She has worked for many years as a Spanish Medical Interpreter and she also has taught all levels of Spanish using accelerated immersion methodology. She taught 7th and 8th grade Social Studies through the immersion program in St. Louis Park. Karen came to ISLA nine years ago as our IB (International Baccalaureate) Coordinator. She guided ISLA through the authorization process and most recently through the IB evaluation.