Lenina Araya Orocu
Founder, Director &
Preschool-Kindergarten Teacher
Lenina is a native of San Jose, Costa Rica, where she completed her studies at the Universidad de Santa Paula with a specialization in Special Education, with an emphasis on Speech Therapy. She has worked exclusively with children for the last 10 years and truly enjoys time spent with them, nurturing them as they grow and learn. Her other passions are reading, riding her bicycle and spending time with her family.
Erin Hellman
Middle/High School
Laura Lukkari
Preschool-Kindergarten Teacher
Meet our Team
At Mareas we are committed to creating a caring, child-centered academic environment. Where freedom and flexibility go hand in hand with learning from the most qualified teachers in the Samara area.
Katie, who is originally from Boston, has lived in Costa Rica since 2008. She has a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University's innovative Hotel & Restaurant Administration program, and a Master's of Arts in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York Graduate Center. Before coming to Costa Rica she taught World Literature and Composition at Queens College for 3 years and at Lehman College for 2 years. Once she was permanently established in Costa Rica Katie ran her own business for 4 years, Froggies Video Lounge, where she got to know and love the local children. Then, she joined our team.
Katie Steele
Administration & More
Lenina is a native of San Jose, Costa Rica, where she completed her studies at the Universidad de Santa Paula with a specialization in Special Education, with an emphasis on Speech Therapy. She has worked exclusively with children for the last 10 years and truly enjoys time spent with them, nurturing them as they grow and learn. Her other passions are reading, riding her bicycle and spending time with her family.
Laura is from a small town in western Michigan. Last year in December she graduated with a teaching degree from Central Michigan University with a major in Early Childhood. Right after completing my degree she moved to South Africa for 3 months to be a volunteer teacher in a kindergarten and loved every second of it. That's when she knew she wanted to continue teaching abroad. She came to Costa Rica to become TEFL certified and during my course she found the opportunity at Mareas.
Erin is 24 years old and from Baltimore, MD, USA. She has a bachelors degree in Art Education and is certified to teach grades Pre-K-12. She has two brothers, a sister, and a yellow lab named Buddy!She enjoys making art, exploring nature, swimming in the ocean, and working with kids!