My name is Katherinne Balboa Oviedo, and I was born in Santiago de Chile. I graduated as a Spanish Teacher (Profesora de Castellano) in 2007. In conjunction, I did a diploma course in Latin America Literature, and in 2013, I completed a Masters in Education. I started as a high school teacher when I was 22 years old, and it was a beautiful experience that I will always remember. Most of my working experience dates back from Chile where I worked as a Spanish teacher for over 7 years. I have been lucky enough to work with students from elementary all the way to being a college professor. In the US, my focus has been students who are Spanish heritage speakers where I’ve worked with students online and in person. In 2019, I completed my second Masters, this time in the field of teaching Spanish as a foreign language at the Barcelona University. The same year, I traveled to Spain to a conference of Spanish teachers. This was a great experience, and since then, I continue to develop my skills by attending courses and seminars focused on teaching Spanish.

I started working at St. Mary’s in 2021 as a Spanish teacher for levels II, III and IV. In 2022-2023, I started a new class focused on Spanish heritage speakers. I like my classes to be as dynamic as possible, and I am always looking for new ways to teach this beautiful language. I think that the students will reach their learning objectives faster and more easily if they enjoy the classes. My main goal is for them to feel confident when they communicate in Spanish.

Besides being a teacher, I am a very lucky mother of two kids, Fernando (9) and Violeta (6). Additionally, my husband has been my support since we moved to the US. We are a family of 6 as we have two pups (Nala and Almendra). We love to hike and discover new places in Colorado together.

I love hikes, yoga, aerial hoop, dance, travel, skating with my family (no, the pets cannot skate… yet) and spending time with friends having a good conversation while we enjoy a good coffee.