Ken Krall - Fall 1978 and Spring 1979

Ken Krall studied off-campus with SLU's Signature Program in Spain for the 1978 - 1979 academic year. 

"I arrived at the SLU Spain program in August, 1978, excited and anxious but with little indication of what kind of impact the program would prove to have on my life.

Originally planning on staying for a semester, others at school with study abroad experience had encouraged me to invest a full year - you get out of it what you put in, right?  

During that year, I was blessed to be placed with a wonderful family on the outskirts of Madrid with whom I remained in contact for many years; it also goes without saying that I became very tight with my fellow SLU students and others sharing the same experience. You gain a kind of confidence from living and thriving in an overseas community which changes you.

Upon my return to SLU and graduation in 1980, I knew I wanted to use my Spanish in my professional life, and started a career in International Private Banking at a large Boston institution specializing in Latin America.

I had maintained a relationship with Marisa, a wonderful Spanish girl I had met (on the subway!) in Madrid during my year there, and in 1984 we were married in that magical city and returned to the States. I joked with my friends that most students just brought back a bullfight poster or other souvenir...not me!

A few years later, she started a business teaching Spanish, which then expanded to foreign language translations. In 1990 I left banking to join her in trying to make this business our lives; it eventually morphed into teaching ESL to students from around the world and became very successful. We sold it in 2014 and retired, we live near our two sons - both of whom are bilingual.

Marisa and I bought a residence near Malaga in So. Spain, which we just returned from - we had a tremendous time visiting her family for the first time since pre-COVID time, and celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary.  It still feels special to "live" in Spanish, and I consider myself tremendously fortunate to be where my life has brought me.

It's funny how much certain decisions in life can affect you. For me, it's abundantly clear that it all began with my decision to spend a year in Spain with SLU."