Meet Bill and Susan Carlson of Carlson & Affiliates Los Alumnos Academy Spanish Language Immersion

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill and Susan Carlson.

Susan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always loved Mexico, the language and the culture. My connection began with my studies of Spanish throughout high school and college. As a teacher in primarily Mexican immigrant neighborhoods, I saw firsthand the importance of connecting parents and family to the educational process and that happened thanks to knowing and using the language.

That was the beginning but just the beginning. In every job throughout my career, knowing Spanish was a benefit. It opens doors. I have engaged with parents and citizens and know it begins with understanding community culture. I love the language, the people, the culture and the country and I love sharing it with others.

My husband Bill and I have extensive experience in travel and business in Mexico. Bill was an importer of tequila from Jalisco. He imported pulque, a little known ancient Aztec beverage, from Puebla. Together, we have been active in Sister Cities International

As we have moved from full-time careers to our “next phase of life” we decided to build on our passion for Mexico. Throughout the decades, we had often hosted groups to that country, since we traveled there any way to connect with our tequila producer or others. Now, with the time to enjoy the journey, we wanted to create a more structured program.

We began by visiting and assessing schools and communities. We visited schools in a number of locations and found that the safety, tranquility and history of Querétaro’s Historical district were perfect. We interviewed several schools there and decided that the leaders of the school, Olé Center for Spanish Language and Culture were most cooperative, flexible, student-centered and focused on customer service. They became our partners and good friends.

We’ve created several ways to get face to face with the culture and to build and improve skills with the Spanish language. We’ve created a professional development program through immersion as a capacity-building strategy for educators, business and civic leaders. We also offer an Immersion Excursion – an opportunity to brush up on Spanish, then visit San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Bernal, a Pueblo Mágico.

We believe that a key to success in our communities and with customers is understanding the Mexican culture, its language and its people. We know that building trusting relationships is foundational. Every opportunity has resulted in new insights and learning. The following are a few past experiences.

We have created and personally hosted relevant and meaningful experiences for educators that include school visits and dialogue with Mexican teachers. I facilitated city-to-city connections to initiate a Sister City relationship. Hosted business participants that included Rotary lunch and Chamber of Commerce visits.

Today, together with our partners, we have two sessions in June for language immersion. We can create programs throughout the year and tailor the program for our attendees to give them a more relevant experience and inside view of Mexico.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s been a relatively smooth road. The Los Alumnos Project, as it was called then, began small, with just eight attendees on the first trip. However, each of those attendees had such wonderful experiences and had established a great relationship among themselves, that many returned the next summer, bringing friends with them. The program has continued to grow,

However, there are struggles. Politics and the media often paint a dangerous and unpleasant picture of Mexico. There are conflicts in various regions or states, as occurs in any large country, But Querétaro is one of the 5 safest states and their capital city is an economic driver of the country. It has been described by one of our students “as beautiful as Paris.”

Our hope is that stories of the returning attendees overcome the negativity we often hear and see in the press.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Carlson & Affiliates Los Alumnos Academy Spanish Language Immersion story. Tell us more about the business.
Carlson & Affiliates creates, promotes and hosts group immersion experiences in Mexico.

We are not a travel agency. However, we work with partners in Mexico, specifically Querétaro and Puebla, to create a program of language study, homestay, cultural tours and specialty interactions with one goal in mind: to provide the student with the tools of language and insight in order to better understand the life experience of Mexicans ~ of particular importance in view of the communities we serve here in the Southwest.

We are most proud of our relationship with our Mexican partners who also make every effort to offer a unique, safe and enjoyable experience to learn about their people. We’re proud of the relationships that are created between ourselves and our students and among the students themselves. And we are most pleased when we hear our students express the joy of their visits, the love of their homestay family, their eagerness to connect back home with the Spanish-speaking community and the beauty of Mexico.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
My life is filled with good luck, I’m lucky to have celebrated my 52nd wedding anniversary. I’m lucky to have wonderful kids and grandkids. But none of that is really luck. In my view, there is no such thing as “luck.”

Luck is dictated by your level of preparation and of those who’ve influenced your life, of positive thought and of commitment… good preparation is seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of it. Good preparation is seeing a roadblock and overcoming it. Good preparation is having the right people around you and on your team.

So, “luck” has had no role in my life or business, unless it was that one moment in time when I was born to a loving mother and father… but even then, it was a matter of the happenstance that brought those two together.

Contact Info:

• Address: 315 W. Elliot Rd
  Suite 107-292
  Tempe, AZ 85284
• Website: www.carlson-affiliates.com
• Phone: 602-418-7866
• Email: carlson_affiliates@icloud.com

Image Credit:
Bill Carlson

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.