Meet the trip leaders

2009 Costa Rica B leaders: Zac Strode and Natalie Wagner

NATALIE WAGNER: University of Oklahoma, B.A., French and International and Area Studies, minor in Spanish; University of Pennsylvania, M. Ed., Urban Education. After high school, Natalie spent a year living in France through a Rotary Student Exchange program. She lived with a French family, attended a French Lycée, and traveled to Rotary Club meetings throughout the region to speak about cultural differences. At the University of Oklahoma, Natalie was very involved in the international community. She was an active member of the French Club and the Pan-American Students Association, worked in the Education Abroad office, and taught English at the Center for English as a Second Language. She spent a semester studying European history at the Université Michel de Montaigne in Bordeaux, France. After graduation, Natalie joined Teach for America and moved to Philadelphia where she now teaches high school English and Drama. She also teaches French to adults at the Alliance Française de Philadelphie. In her free time, Natalie enjoys traveling and dancing. She has traveled extensively in Western Europe and Mexico, and has studied ballroom dance for five years. This will be Natalie’s second summer with Putney. In 2008 she led a Language Learning program in France. Natalie is fluent in French and is proficient in Spanish.

ZAC STRODE: Whitman College, B.A., Spanish and History. While at Whitman, Zac was an active member of the college’s cycling team competing throughout the northwest. He studied abroad for six months in Costa Rica where he focused his studies on local culture, language, and geography while living with a Costa Rican host family. While in Costa Rica, Zac took the opportunity to travel throughout the country as much as possible exploring both coasts and everything in-between. He has experience working with elementary, middle, and high school students as a tutor and camp counselor. Since graduation he has dedicated his time helping out his college cycling team with their winning season. They recently won Nationals in Colorado. He has traveled extensively including time spent in Japan, Spain, Argentina, China, Australia, and South Africa. Zac is proficient in Spanish.