Anew;enterprise;seeks;to;pro- vide;essential;language;in- struction;without;any;of;the travel;costs.;Homeschool
Spanish Academy (HSA) is a unique
program;that;connects;students;with;cer-tified;Spanish;instructors;in;Guatemala
via;the;Internet.;What’s;more;interesting
than;the;business,;however,;is;the;jour-ney;it;took;to;get;there.
U.S. Marine to IT Consultant to
Principal to CEO
From;the;beginning,;Ron;Fortin;has;seen
success through technology. In Texas,
he;was;an;accomplished;IT;consultant,
but;always;wanted;to;make;a;difference
in;people’s;lives;while;being;an;entrepre-neur.;He;got;his;shot;thanks;to;a;very;un-
likely;turn;of;events.;In;December;2009,
he;took;a;leap;of;faith;and;left;the;9-to- 5
world;to;run;a;non-profit;school;in;Joco-tenango, Guatemala, where technology
has;been;a;core;asset;for;his;students.
“At the beginning of the year, they
didn’t;even;know;how;to;save;a;Word;doc-
ument,”;Fortin;says;of;the;125;students
at;his;school.;“By;the;end;of;the;year;they
were;having;Skype;conferences;with;oth-
er;classes;in;the;US.”
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Foreign Language
By;Connor;Boals
ADVERTISEMENT
Ron Fortin, CEO of Homeschool Spanish Academy, says learning Spanish opened the door for him
to become a “global citizen” and grow a successful international business. Photo credit: Ben Parker
“I;was;able;to;overcome;my;language;barrier
through;technology;.;.;.;and;now;I;want;to;give
that;opportunity;to;the;rest;of;the;world.”
One;Man’s;Spanish;Language;Journey
