Suzie Castello and the Explorers origin story
Originally from California, Suzie Castello has lived in Brazil since 1998. Over this time, she dedicated herself to learning Portuguese while raising two children with her husband Alex in a fully bilingual home.
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In 2014, Suzie founded what was then called The Explorers, a project to tutor English to clothing retailers in Teresópolis in preparation for the 2014 World Cup. Originally located in a tiny storefront, The Explorers grew as a tutoring service for English-language learners, always with a student-centered mission of providing high quality, personalized educational services.
Following her students' wishes, in 2017 Explorers English expanded its services to include tutoring for English-language proficiency testing and educational consulting services, helping area high school students be admitted to pre-college and undergraduate programs in the US and UK.
In order to offer high-quality educational services, Suzie has sought to grow her expertise through professional development and training. In 2022 she received the Independent Educational Consultant Certificate from the University of California, Irvine. In 2024 she completed UK Certified Counsellor training through British Council. She also completed the NACAC Character Collaborative courses for character in admissions, and the IE University Global Counselors Academy workshop.
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Suzie continues her professional development, and collaborates with high school counselors, educational consultants and admissions professionals as an associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, upholding its principles of good practice, a member of the International Association of College Admission Counseling, and is active in the Caribbean and Latin American Network of college counseling professionals.
In addition, Suzie has volunteered as a mentor to students impacted by war through work with the Ukraine Global Scholars Foundation and the Syrian Youth Empowerment Initiative.
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Today, Explorers has developed into a fully online, comprehensive educational consulting business, guiding students and families across Brazil and around the world.
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