Ms. Greta Keremidchieva, an English language professor at the Rakovski National Defense College in Sofia, Bulgaria, is not a George C. Marshall Center alumnus, though she admits, “I have probably spent more time in Garmisch than any graduate.”

In 2000, Keremidchieva began working for the Partnership for Peace Consortium, which is part of the Marshall Center. Although she was new to the Advanced Distributed Learning world, she did have experience as an educator. Growing from a technical expert on the ADL working group to Vice-Chair in 2005 and then to Chair in 2014, she developed an appreciation, not just for what technology can do, but for the connections she’s made along the way.

“I am still part of the ADL Community and when I look back in the years, I know I have been incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to meet so many professionals, to learn from their experience, and to engage both professionally and personally,” she said. “I have always claimed and I will keep repeating that the PfP Consortium is a unique place and a hub where partnerships and friendships are created.”

In 2005, the PfPC ADL working group, in cooperation with the Partnership Language Training Center in Europe, launched an online course called English Language Training Enhancement Course, designed to improve the English language skills of NATO and Partner staff officers, “enabling them to work more effectively in a multinational environment,” Keremidchieva said.

This, in turn, led to the success of a second launch of ELEC2, which focused on military writing for NATO member nations. All this was made possible because of a solid working relationship between PfPC and PLTCE, something Keremidchieva willingly credits to Peggy Garza, Chair of PLTCE.

“We met in 1998 in Texas and we have been working together, cooperating on projects and sharing expertise ever since,” Keremidchieva said. “Our friendship is a valuable asset to our professional relations.”

“In a nutshell,” Keremidchieva said, “my Marshall Center experience has made my life more meaningful in every aspect – professionally, personally, intellectually, culturally, internationally, emotionally.”