A Buffalo native, Abigail LaPlaca graduated in 2015 from the University at Buffalo summa cum laude with a B.A. in Spanish, a minor in Education, and Global Scholar Distinction.  LaPlaca was an Honors College Scholar and a Presidential Scholar.  She studied abroad in Ecuador and Italy and worked as an intern teaching in a bilingual classroom in Buffalo and teaching English in a school in Guayaquil, Ecuador. After graduation, Abigail was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching grant and spent a year teaching English at Universidad Tecnológica in Panama City, Panama.  Abigail is currently a Masters student in UB’s English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher’s certification program.  She works as a Graduate Assistant for the Office of Fellowships and Scholarships and works at Jericho Road Community Health Center developing a new-hire training program for employees.