ADAM RICE

Associate Director

Adam contributes to The Cambridge Institute his personal expertise in international education and the Chinese market. He earned his B.A. from Middlebury College, with concentrations in biology and Chinese studies. In the summer of 2010, supported with funding from the Fulbright Foundation, Adam performed a comparative analysis of the Chinese and US educational systems, drawing on his research and experiences both in the U.S. and in rural and metropolitan China.

What was your favorite experience traveling abroad?

Playing table tennis on a stone table with the regional champion in Xiejiaqiao, China. I got destroyed...it was awesome.

What is a life-changing experience you’ve had?

I had the opportunity to work in an obstetrics clinic in Kibera, a slum of Nairobi, Kenya. I participated in multiple child births and performed a wide variety of third world laboratory work.

MATT JENNINGS

Director of Global Marketing

Matt is graduate of Brandeis University, majoring in East Asian Studies. There, he served as the captain of the Cross Country and Track teams, and later as Assistant Coach. He’s completed language programs at two different universities in China and served as the first ever foreign English teacher at Benxi Number 5 Middle School in Liaoning Province, China.

What do you love about your job?

Working with our partners and learning more about their new programs. Whenever we form a new partnership, it allows me to research another part of the US. By proxy, I have visited almost 40 states!

One interesting life story...

For most people, a home break-in is a traumatic, and costly occurrence. For me, the only time my home was ever broken into was when someone took my pillow out of its pillow case, replaced it with another pillow, and made my bed so that I would not notice. My neighbor’s TV was stolen, but all that happened to me was I needed a new pillow!

GREG FRIEDMAN

Director of Program Management

Greg is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he majored in Chinese Language and Literature and Psychology. He’s completed language immersion programs at Middlebury College, Qinghua University, and Zhejiang University of Technology and has lived in China, working in the manufacturing and sports marketing industries. Greg is an avid baseball fan and once had the opportunity to scrimmage against members of the Chinese national team.

What was your favorite experience traveling abroad?

When I was 21 I spent two months travelling across China. My favorite destination was the small town of Yangshuo in Guangxi province. I rented a scooter and spent a weekend riding through the mountains and admiring the picturesque landscape.

What do you love about your job?

I wake up in the morning excited to come to work. Every day I am able to play a small part in increasing multi-cultural awareness and bringing together students from around the world.

ATANAS BAKALOV

Associate Director

As a holder of both American and Bulgarian high school diplomas, Atanas attained a rare perspective on divergent educational systems and the importance of cultural sensitivity in the classroom. He’s worked in the Boston public schools system, tutoring, teaching ESL, and developed an extracurricular program designed to foster cultural and media literacy. Atanas graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology and University of Massachusetts Boston with a M.A. in Applied Linguistics.

Any hobbies worth mentioning?

I’ve played the guitar and the drums for over 15 years and love filmmaking (I have several short films under my belt, some of which have been awarded at festivals or seen festival exposure.) I’ve also worked on movie sets (Mr. Deeds, Halloween 2, We the Peeples) in the past.

What is one of your favorite books or movies of all time?

Movies: Emir Kusturica’s Underground and Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love

KETAN GAJRIA

Associate Director

Ketan graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Tufts University with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Arabic. His study of this language propelled him to spend a semester abroad in Amman, Jordan as an undergraduate and a further two years in Damascus, Syria following graduation during which he completed programs at the Institut Francais du Proche Orient and the Center for Arabic Study Abroad at Damascus University.

Any hobbies worth mentioning?

I maintain a photography website at ketangajria.com that features images from over 20 countries. Please take a look!

What do you love about your job?

The Cambridge Institute sincerely values creativity and views creative thinking through a lens of meritocracy. If you have a great idea, it will be heard, whether you are a new employee or a Senior Associate.

SHELLEY YOUNG

Collaborative Programs Consultant

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Shelley spent three semesters at Peking University and Beijing Language and Culture University and has worked in Beijing as a translator at an international marketing firm.

Where have you lived?

I grew up in Georgia, and lived most of my adult life in Massachusetts, with one year abroad in Beijing, China. I see myself as an American with Southern sensibilities, a New England personality, and a Chinese approach to haggling.

What is a life-changing experience you’ve had?

After high school, I moved to Boston, spending two years working in restaurants and cafes. I spent my spare time reading, writing, and exploring the city. Coming from a clean little Atlanta suburb, it was difficult to adjust. I was dirt poor, unused to living in a big city, and Bostonian mannerisms completely baffled me. I’m thankful for that experience that allowed me to interact with different types of people and pushed me out of my comfort zone. It made me more resilient, brave, and open-minded than I would have been otherwise.

ARIEL SMITH

International Program Consultant

Ariel graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Economics and Chinese. In college, she was able to studied abroad in Hangzhou, China at the Zhejiang University of Technology for six months.

What is one of your favorite books or movies of all time?

The Count of Monte Cristo, a story where a man has a chance to regain his dignity after being wrongfully imprisoned for 13 years.

What do you love about your job?

I love the fact that I am making a difference in these students lives. Promoting social interaction through diversity is something that I have felt strongly about since junior high school. I take pride in the fact that my job gives me opportunity to create diverse classrooms and foster meaningful dialogue.

PAUL NOTAR

Associate Director of Program Management

A passionate believer in experiential and cross-cultural learning, Paul has lived or worked in China, Yemen, Syria, Morocco and the Palestinian Territories. His academic background lies in the fields of Middle East history, Arabic and economics.

Why is education important to you?

I was taught as a kid that some people are innately smarter than others, and this innate intellect often accounts for their success. My education and travel has given me the tools to dismiss that notion as pure myth and the confidence to chart my own course.

What was your favorite experience traveling abroad?

My favorite experience was bringing a group of ten American high school students on a month-long cultural excursion through rural Morocco.

EUGENE KANG

Marketing Associate

Eugene [also Yujin] is a graduate from Oberlin College, where she majored in Art History and East Asian Studies. She has experience working in public schools to teach ESL and in the film production industry, where she explored her passion for advertising and visual communication. With funding from the Fulbright Foundation, she participated in a Mandarin Chinese curricular development program in Beijing.

Why is education important to you?

Knowledge is power and education empowers. It helps overcoming inequalities and transforms individual lives, their communities, and furthermore the global community.

What was your favorite experience traveling abroad?

I am an avid eater so many of my favorite moments involve food. Some include a long-awaited bowl of borscht with a petite charred potato at the end of a day of hiking in Kraków, a bowl of dàndanmiàn after a long day of non-stop studying in Beijing, and a custard-apple in my safe hotel room after having successfully dodged scooters on the streets of Saigon.

SOYEON MOON

Marketing Manager - South Korea

What is one of your favorite books or movies of all time?

Life is Beautiful. This movie reminds me of parents’ love. Family is the most important and precious piece in life.

One interesting life story...

Once while I was in the U.S., I was approached on the street and given a business card of a film crew looking for an Asian extra. I had a mid term on the shooting date, and could not attend. Two days later, a guy who worked in the movies approached me at the grocery store and suggested I be an actress, and also gave me his business card but I did not contact him. That weekend, I cracked open a fortune cookie from a Chinese restaurant. It said, “You will be a super star.”

CICI XIA

Marketing Manager - Beijing, China

What is a life-changing experience you’ve had?

Studying abroad for eight years exposed me to a new way of life. I have a bunch of friends that have all studied in different countries and are now back to China. Whenever we talk about studying abroad, I see that our life goals are very clear. We’re tough and creative. Anywhere, in any circumstance, we can overcome any difficulty, however great.

Why did you join The Cambridge Institute?

I have a dream to help more students have a better education. It is not about getting a certificate but about gaining useful abilities—maybe one day, we can even create our own school. But I know it can’t be done by one person, therefore, I joined The Cambridge Institute and work with a group of people who have the same dream.