Profiles

Staff Profile:  Kelly Galvin

Kelly Galvin

Funny. Outdoorsy. Spunky. These are some of the words used to describe Kelly Galvin, ELI's admissions counselor.

There are few ELI students who don't know Galvin, who's in charge of enrolling students and handling a multitude of visa issues. As one student said, Kelly "gets us in" and "lets us out" of ELI. Her ready smile and upbeat personality make her a favorite with students. Galvin also takes on a great deal of marketing for ELI, which requires her to travel to educational fairs -- sometimes abroad. So far, Galvin has flown to Brazil twice and Thailand once, and she considers such international travel a real perk.

Kelly's educational background has its roots in Delaware. Although she grew up in Pennsylvania, she attended Padua Academy in Wilmington and graduated from the University of Delaware, where she majored in French. In addition, Kelly learned mixology, the art of bartending, at Delaware County Community College.

Kelly's strong family ties keep her close to her large Irish Catholic family, who live in Pennsylvania. The oldest of four children, Kelly has two sisters and a brother, whom she enjoys spending time with, in addition to her "favorite person in the world," Ciaran, her five-month-old nephew, who keeps her happily busy.

However, most of Kelly's time outside of work is taken up in the Irish-American community, by the Ladies Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic charitable organization. She is also a member of the Federation of the United Irish American Societies of the Delaware Valley. In these groups, she raises money for charities, volunteers and helps organize festivals to preserve the Irish culture.

Kelly brings her dedicated passion for her own ethnic ties to her job. She understands how important culture is and how strongly students feel about their homelands. Curious to know more about life in other countries, Kelly admitted that the best part of working at ELI is meeting and knowing people from all over the world.

"They teach me something new every day about themselves and about their cultures."

Faculty profile:  Leslie Criston

Leslie Criston

Teachers at ELI have had a great variety of international experiences, and Leslie Criston is no exception. Although she grew up nearby, in Springfield, PA, Criston has traveled extensively, especially in Europe and South America. In fact, she spent several months in Brazil teaching English. To work at the English Language Institute, Leslie settled in Newark nine years ago.

Criston didn't always want to be a teacher. She was interested in language, in people and in animals, but her father's tales of test piloting in Alaska during World War II gave her a taste for adventure. At the University of Arizona, Criston majored in anthropology and earned her master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Teaching English might seem a long way from anthropology, but Criston disagrees.

"I use my knowledge of anthropology all the time," she says.

In fact, Criston's interest in her students' cultures and stories is one of the things that keeps her excited about teaching.

"Students are a great source of our own education about what works in the classroom - and they are a constant source of inspiration," she says. "They all have a different story about why they came, what they had to give up to get here, and what their future dreams are. It's a great feeling to be a small part of fulfilling their big dreams."

In addition to being inspired by her students, Criston works to inspire them, too. Besides the many business courses she has taught, she is especially fond of the film class she developed.

Outside of the classroom, Criston loves travel, sports and music. Living for a while in Nashville, Tennessee, while teaching at Vanderbilt University furthered her interest in songwriting, and she is a published songwriter.

However, Criston's favorite leisure activity is spending time with her family. When they get together, she says, it usually involves large amounts of cooking and eating.

"We sit for hours at the table, and eventually the stories about the old country [Greece] come out - my favorites."

Growing up in a bicultural, bilingual family (all her grandparents were immigrants), Criston knows well what it is like to live in two cultures. And she brings that understanding to her classroom.