Mariana P. Syrotiak

My greatest satisfaction comes from my students’ success. I love to be an active witness to their development. They are already amazing people but now they have to translate themselves into a different language and culture and they are amazing at doing so. I can empathize with what they are going through as I walked this path myself. A native of Romania, I started my professional career in performing arts. Once in the United States my interests shifted to intercultural management, conflict transformation and peacebuilding, and subsequently teaching English as a Second Language. Somehow, all these fields converged beautifully in my current position, which is administration of an Intensive English Program. I love to travel, and I have been fortunate that my work took me several places around the world:  Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, India, Nepal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Spain, and United Kingdom. And now,  I love to welcome students from many of these countries and more, here in Erie, PA. They bring with them their stories, their courage, and their commitment to transform their lives. And they’ve come to the right place.