Sebastian R. Melgarejo; director-owner
Sebastian was born and raised in Argentina and moved to the Vail Valley in 2001. He is married and is a father of two children. In 2011, Sebastian completed his Masters of Education in World Language Instruction at Concordia College in Minnesota. Sebastian works as a blingual teacher at Eagle Valley Elementary School and is fully dedicated to the development and growth of H&M Spanish Programs. Previously, Sebastian worked as a Spanish Immersion home school teacher, taught Spanish at Vail Mountain School and Colorado Mountain College, in Edwards. He also worked for Eagle County (Early Head Start) in programs that help local Hispanic families.
Growing up in Bariloche, a ski town in Patagonia that receives thousands of travelers from around the world every year, Sebastian developed a passion for languages and interaction with people of other cultures. In Argentina, Sebastian earned a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology from Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires. While studying at the university, he spent his summer breaks working as a ski instructor in Italy, France, Spain, Andorra, and the United States, becoming fluent in English, Italian, and Catalan.
For the last decade, Sebastian has been exploring the use of filmmaking in his teaching. An essential part of his teaching is the creation of audiovisual educational products, which has proved to be an extremely powerful tool for language learning and allowed him to discover another passion in his life. These experiences have prepared him for graduate work in effective uses of technology in the classroom, designing interactive learning activities on the web. Sebastian also enjoys spending time with his wife and children, playing guitar, skiing, biking, traveling, and reading Latin American Literature.
Jeff Hayslip
Jeff became fluent in Spanish due to his desire to learn other cultures and languages and by living abroad in both Spain and Argentina. One of his commitments upon returning to the States from Argentina 10 years ago was to use Spanish in his professional life and that he has done. Jeff was instrumental from the beginning through his dedication and devotion to H&M’s beliefs and goals but he also helped establish a solid foundation by applying his organizational skills and financial background to the company. Jeff worked tirelessly on the development of new games and ideas for the children’s programs and was loyal educator to the children who loved to be around him. After 10 years dedicating his life to education Jeff has taken a new career path. He is now the Latin American manager for a company which sells digital x-ray equipment.
Jeff enjoys the outdoors and is very active with sports. He plays soccer for the semi-pro Freedom FC in the winter and has been a member of Pepi's Soccer Club for 10 years. He also enjoys mountain biking, camping, fishing, telemark skiing and loves to travel when he gets the opportunity.