CEA CAPA Granada, Spain Directory

As the Director of CEA Granada, Begoña is responsible for the successful day-to-day management of the Granada program, including on-site student services, host institution and local vendor relations, program academics, participant health and safety, and student evaluations. She also identifies and implements opportunities for program improvements, makes development recommendations, and designs faculty-led and custom programs. She provides leadership to her team, as they support her in creating a superior student experience.

Begoña pioneered CEA's internship program in Granada, as well as the Arabic Cultural Studies program at our partner institution in Granada.

Begoña holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Translation and Interpreting and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Granada. She has completed an online Specialization in Foundations of Management at the IESE Business School. Begoña is also a certified coach with the International School of Coaching, and a sworn translator authorized by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Begoña worked as a teacher and congress coordinator before joining CEA in 1999.

Begoña first studied abroad in high school, when she spent an academic year at Wisconsin’s Shorewood High School. As an undergraduate student, she was awarded scholarships to study at Dublin City University (Ireland), the University of California San Diego (U.S.), and Palacky University of Olomouc (Czechia).

Begoña is passionate about international education. She works enthusiastically to provide meaningful study abroad programs that allow students to experience authentic growth and prepare them to tackle real-world challenges by developing solutions.

As Senior Student Life Advisor, Jorge serves as the primary contact for students in Granada. He coordinates the student registration process and monitors students’ academic progress, helping them achieve higher language attainment through courses and internship placements. Jorge also executes students´ arrival and excursions, and addresses student questions or concerns.

Before joining CEA, Jorge worked as an administrator, quality manager, and study abroad program coordinator at the Universidad de Granada for 3.5 years. He was appointed as a French-Spanish sworn translator by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, worked as a freelance sworn translator and interpreter for some translation agencies in Andalucía, and volunteered for the Immigrants Bureau at the Red Cross in Granada. Jorge holds a bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting and Immigration Laws from the University of Granada and a master’s degree in Foreign Trade and Quality Management from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

Jorge’s travels have taken him around the world to the U.S., France, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia, England, Scotland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Monaco, Malta, and Austria; he’ll soon travel to Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore. Jorge advises study abroad students to: “Make every effort to get immersed into the Spanish

culture and way of life. Meet locals and talk to them as much as you can. You will learn from them much more than from any book.”

As Student Life Advisor, Irene will act as a liaison regarding all aspects of student services onsite and will provide support in the planning and coordination of Faculty led programs.

Irene is from Granada, and she holds a Degree in Translation & Interpreting from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She likes to describe herself as attentive and she likes to be engaged in her community. She volunteers at a local Scout Association, and she loves practicing sports: she is an amateur rugby player and enjoys going to Sierra Nevada to ski.

She studied abroad for 4 months at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. She loved the city, and the university had a very international setting. This experience made her more interested in searching for new opportunities to develop her career in that direction.

Irene has extensive experience in the coordination of leisure and cultural activities as a camp leader and instructor by volunteering in a local scout association since 2016. She is a qualified youth leader for non-formal education by the Escuela Insignia de Madera. She takes every opportunity to learn something new, that way, she knows a bit of social media managing, Montessori English teaching, speaks a bit of Arabic too...

Her professional path has led her to work in various positions, consistently focused on helping other people, like as a local facilitator in the Red Guadalinfo —a project created to provide an internet connection and ICT resources to rural or deprived areas of Andalucía. She would love to work someday as a translator or interpreter, since she loves languages and the whole culture they convey.

Irene will use her experience and enthusiasm to provide students the most supportive, enriching & successful time in Granada. She hopes to transmit her utmost love for the city to everyone by creating a powerful bond with the memories they will make in Granada.