Tricia Kurtich was born and raised in northwest Pennsylvania. She started her teaching journey in 2008 when moving to Ecuador and began an amazing adventure learning a new culture and language. Owning and operating her own international ESL tutoring company gave her the opportunity to work alongside several business owners helping them succeed in English and excel in the business world. Tricia has also worked at Penn West University in the Intensive English Department, and she has worked as a tutor for online ESL companies teaching children and adolescents. She has a bachelor’s degree in English language learning and a master’s degree in TESOL.

Tricia Kurtich, Instructor & Spanish Translator

Dr. Athar Almadanat is an accomplished educator with a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Mut’ah University in Jordan. In pursuit of advancing her education and teaching skills, she relocated to Erie, PA in 2012. There, she earned a Master’s in Education in 2013 and a Doctorate in Philosophy in 2018 from Gannon University.

Dr. Almadanat's journey as a second language educator began in 2011 when she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship to teach Arabic as a second language at the University of Texas at Austin. Since then, she has been dedicated to teaching English as a second language with Language Collaborations and at Gannon University. Her expertise also extends to teaching Arabic online and in person at institutions such as UT Austin, Gannon University, Virginia Military Institute, and Sijal Institute.

Driven by the belief that language should be taught as a skill rather than a content-based subject, Dr. Almadanat adopts a student-centered approach in her classroom. Following the flipped classroom model, she tailors her courses each semester to meet the specific needs of her students. Her classes provide a dynamic and interactive experience, with learners actively engaging in the target language for 90% of the class time.

Dr. Almadanat finds joy in teaching languages, where she has the opportunity to connect with individuals from around the world, gaining insights into their diverse cultures at no cost.

My name is Dr. Tarek A. AL Madanat. I was born and raised in Jordan. I have a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature and a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Mutah University, Jordan. I have had a long experience in teaching English as a second language for non-native speakers. My teaching career has started after I graduated from college. I had taught English at different high schools in Jordan before I decided to start a new adventure. My first teaching experience abroad was in Saudi Arabia. I was offered a job at one of the universities in the south of the kingdom where I taught English as a second language for four years. 

My journey in the United States and specifically in Erie started in 2015. I moved to the United States to pursue my education and obtain my Doctorate degree. I joined the Organization Learning and Leadership Ph.D program at Gannon University and graduated in 2019. Regarding my teaching experience at the ESL program at Gannon University, I started teaching as an adjunct in 2016 and continued until 2020. In 2022, I was hired as a full-time instructor. During my long years of teaching English as a second language, I have met students from different countries around the world. My classes have always been interesting due to the diversity and the cultural differences that my students have had. I view the learning process in my classroom as a two-way process. This simply means that I consider myself as part of the learning experience where I teach and learn from my students at the same time.

In addition to my career as an ESL instructor, I have always been interested in learning about new cultures and how they impact people's behaviors and actions. This passion has become my research area of interest and the essence of my doctorate dissertation. My goal at the ESL program is to create the best versions of my students as language learners.