Ester Bastian has a successful teaching history, teaching children and adults of all ages for over three decades. She grew up in a family of teachers and musicians, which inspired her into tutoring and mentoring roles from the age of seventeen. At that age, when she was in the second year of the College of Education, she was invited to teach first grade in a public school, due to the shortage of teachers in her county. From then on, she never stopped teaching, giving classes in three different countries: Brazil, Argentina and the United States of America, and teaching different subjects such as Spanish, Portuguese, Music Theory and Painting.

    Mrs. Bastian is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she had her first experience in the field of teaching, but for her, the acquisition of knowledge is the most important philosophy of life. For this reason, two years after finishing her studies, she went to Argentina to study music at the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires. During that time, she taught Portuguese at a language center. In addition, she traveled to Spain to study History of Spain, Short Story and to participate as a guest speaker at the Symposium on Transcultural Studies.

    Years ago, Mrs. Bastian attended the University of South Florida, where she majored in Spanish/Literature. At USF, she won the distinguished scholar award due to her academic achievement. During that time, she taught Spanish as a TA. She also has translation works published in two Literary Magazines.  Mrs. Bastian has taught Portuguese at Tampa Language Center, ESOL at Plant City Adult School, and now teaches
Spanish I at Saint Petersburg High School and began teaching Spanish I at Saint Petersburg College, as a Dual Enrollment Adjunct.

     Wherever she has gone, Mrs. Bastian has been touching lives and many of her students are following in her footsteps. Steps of dedication and love.