Andy Coval

M.A. with Honors, Theology, Saint John’s University; B.A. Philosophy, Emory University.  Growing up in an international family that included adopted brothers from Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Sudan, Andy has always had an itch for the world abroad.  At seventeen, he fell in love with Bolivia after spending a summer there, and since then he has returned numerous times to work in hospitals, volunteer in orphanages and NGO’s, and study for a semester with the School for International Training.  In addition to traveling, camping, and hiking extensively throughout Bolivia, he has studied the indigenous Quechua language, lived and worked on a rural Andean farm, and written a research project based on fieldwork with street kids.

Currently living in his home city of Philadelphia, Andy splits his time between teaching high school Spanish, coaching pole-vaulting, and teaching philosophy as an adjunct college professor.  He has many years of experience leading groups both as a professional teacher and as a service learning director for non-profit organizations in Philadelphia and Chicago.  His love of the outdoors has led him through countless hours of trekking, canoeing, and camping, as well as leading a ten-day backpacking trip in New Mexico, and this last summer, climbing Mount Fuji in Japan.  With additional background as a volunteer fireman, lover of Spanish poetry, and former Benedictine monk, he is thrilled to bring his diverse passions and love of all things Bolivian to what will no doubt be a life-changing time in the heart of South America.