Olivia Tamzarian

LPI Study Abroad Coordinator in Austin, United States

Olivia grew up in Northampton, MA, where she concentrated on drawing and visual arts. Her fascination with Latin American art, Surrealism, and Muralism in Mexico lead to a pursuit of the Spanish language. As a student she studied Spanish and French in Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico, and France. She combined both her passion for art and love of languages at Bard College, where she majored in Art History, Cultural Anthropology, and Latin American Studies. Her research on Mexican folk art led her to Guanajuato, Mexico, where she studied with ISA and later taught English to children. She has also worked with youth leadership programs that teach teens and adults to be tolerant of differences while embracing their own cultural heritage. She wrote Visions of Mexico: A Bilingual Curriculim in Mexican Art of the Twentieth Century, a course that teachers can use in their Spanish, art, or history classes to make Mexican art a part of their curriculum. She joined LPI in September 2006 and is happy to share her enthusiam for Spanish and Mexican culture with high school students. She is dedicated to making a better future in education by empowering students with artistic creativity and multicultural awareness.