Teacher Spotlight: Ali Welch
August 4, 2026
This AIS-Salzburg staff spotlight features Ali Welch, a Harvard-trained teacher who brings AP European History, AP Psychology, and AP Human Geography to life for our 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-graders. Her path to AIS-Salzburg wound through Boston classrooms and City Year AmeriCorps before landing her in the Alps. What started as a one-year stint as a Resident Assistant has turned into four years and counting — and along the way, she’s picked up a few marathon medals and a fair amount of German. Read on to hear about her journey to AIS-Salzburg, her approach to teaching an international student body, and what keeps her calling Salzburg home.
AIS-S: What brought you to AIS-Salzburg?
AW: I’d always wanted to live abroad and never had the chance to during college nor after graduating. So, after finishing my Master’s Degree, I applied to teaching jobs overseas and found AIS-Salzburg fairly late in my search. I was immediately drawn to the school’s close-knit community, robust residential programming, and standards of academic excellence that pushed students to be their best. I had started feeling burnt out from the long days of teaching, lesson planning, and grading, so the Residential Assistant position felt like a perfect fit for me. Those first two years as an RA at the school not only gave me the much-needed break from the classroom to feel recharged and ready to get back to teaching, but also gave me invaluable memories and experiences with students and staff that validated I’d made the right choice!
Video: Ali also volunteered as the assistant coach of the boys’ soccer team during her first year teaching at AIS-Salzburg.
AIS-S: What is your educational background and/or studies in college?
AW: I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in History of Science with a focus in Abnormal Psychology and secondary in Economics from Harvard College. In 2022, I earned my Master’s Degree in History for Secondary Education from Harvard School of Education
AIS-S: Please tell us about your professional path from college leading to AIS-Salzburg.
AW: Throughout summers in college, I worked as a teacher, mentor, and eventually director for a summer camp aimed at ending summer learning loss for students from the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston. My love for teaching and working with students at this summer camp led me to serve as an AmeriCorps member in a fourth-grade classroom with CityYear after graduating from Harvard College in December of 2017. City Year AmeriCorps members serve as student success coaches, supporting the development, growth and success of students in systemically under-resourced schools, while cultivating skills to be leaders in their communities and careers. After CityYear, I became a third-grade teaching fellow at KIPP Academy Boston, a K-8 charter school in Mattapan, MA. I taught third grade for three years before moving up to middle school to teach eighth-grade U.S. history in 2021. In addition to teaching, I served as a grade-level chair to lead the third-grade and eighth-grade staff and students in building a strong grade-level culture and community. While working full-time as an 8th-grade teacher, I also completed my Master’s degree and Initial Teaching License during the 2021-2022 school year. I started as a Resident Assistant in September 2022 at AIS-Salzburg.
AIS-S: Please share with us any personal accomplishments or recognitions.
AW: In June 2026 I ran my fourth marathon in Tromso, Norway, and achieved a personal best! Since moving here in 2022, I’ve also been taking German classes and just passed my B1 test this past spring.
AIS-S: What do you do outside of work — hobbies, interests, weekend habits?
AW: I love being outdoors, so I often seek out any activities that get me outside. This usually includes some time doing any of the following: running, biking, hiking, skiing, or going for a walk. I also love playing team sports and try to get out to play some soccer or padel when I can. While I’m mostly reading for classes during the school year, I am currently enjoying my attempt to complete the ambitious reading list I’ve made for myself over this summer break.
AIS-S: Please share any fun fact about yourself most colleagues wouldn't know.
AW: I took 6 years of Latin in secondary school and won my high school’s “Latin Award” my senior year. Unfortunately, I have not kept up with my studies nor do I remember much. I do, however, credit my Latin teachers for fostering my love for learning. I truly looked forward to getting an excerpt from the Aeneid and working for 50 minutes with classmates to translate every word, as if it were a puzzle we were solving together.
AIS-S: Do you have a favorite spot in Salzburg (or Austria) that you'd recommend to a newcomer?
AW: Hellbrunner Park is still one of my favorite spots in the city. Not only is the park itself beautiful, there is so much to see and do as a tourist, too! Between the trick fountains, zoo, Stone Theater, and Gazebo from the Sound of Music, I always tell visitors it’s well-worth the visit. For the full experience, I’d recommend biking there through the Allee and going for a run around the trails.
AIS-S: Please share a specific moment from your time at our school that reminded you why you work in education.
AW: While it may not be the same for the students, office hours are my favorite part of teaching. I love when students cautiously peek their head through the door of the library, looking to see if it’s okay to enter and maybe secretly hoping they can still escape…only to hear me welcome them in with excitement that I finally have visitors. Sometimes students come with a quick question and leave when they get their answer. Once in a while, a student will come to me stressed out about a reading, topic from class, or an entire unit (such as Political Geography for this past year’s Human Geography class). This past year, I worked with a student who was struggling to understand the different revolutions of the 19th century in European History. As we worked through the various countries, leaders, and causes of the revolutions, I could see the student start to piece it together. She took a moment to observe the flowchart masterpiece we’d created on the whiteboard and started to slowly nod, adding, “Wow, it finally makes sense.” These “lightbulb moments” are my favorite reminder that I am fortunate to work with such bright, motivated, and curious students that tackle challenges as opportunities to grow and keep improving. I find that energy contagious and am so grateful I get to foster it as my teachers did for me.
AIS-S: What are your thoughts on the city of Salzburg as a place to work, and/or from the student's perspective, a place to study?
AW: I personally feel like I hit the jackpot in getting to work and live in Salzburg. The city’s bike-friendly infrastructure means I can bike to work every day safely, while getting to enjoy fresh air and outstanding views. Similarly, having the mountains and lakes right in our backyard make the city a nature-lover’s dream, with plenty of outdoor activities to take advantage of after a work day or on the weekends. There are always cultural or social events happening throughout the city so it is easy to fill free time with new experiences or by meeting new people.
As a student, I think these opportunities are invaluable ways to experience new hobbies and places with classmates that are hard to find in any other city school. The small size of the city offers a unique chance for students to exercise their independence as they explore the beautiful Baroque architecture and old, winding streets with friends after a school day. I know students appreciate having the ease of getting off campus and into the city with just a 20 minute bus or bike ride and these visits give them the chance to interact with their home-away-from-home in a more meaningful way than a campus without the same access.
AIS-S: Please describe how you approach teaching an international student body with various cultural and educational backgrounds, English levels, etc, while knowing that they are far away from the comforts of home?
AW: Teaching primarily AP classes unfortunately means that there is a lot of content and skills to get through in a limited amount of time. From the beginning, I emphasize how important completing each nightly reading is to students’ success, as it allows students to get exposure to the content for the first time at their own pace with their own note-taking style. I encourage students to come to my office hours early in the school year to learn about time management or study habits so they can learn how to efficiently process what can be very dense textbook content.
In classes, I make an effort to hear from as many student voices as possible. Whether students are talking to a table partner about a question from the reading, volunteering an answer to a question I pose to the class, or engaging in an activity that gets them to apply the content directly, students can always expect to contribute during a lesson. I’ve found this helps students strengthen skills in the moment or flags which areas are challenges for them that could be addressed with one-on-one support in office hours after school. Finally, I’m fortunate that my courses all address aspects of students’ lives in some way, making it easy to connect the content we learn to each individual in the classroom. When we discuss the influence of peers on decision-making in Psychology, students think critically about how they are influenced or persuaded every day. Learning about the origin and diffusion of different cultures and languages around the world in Human Geography helps connect students’ backgrounds to each other, seeing just how much they share in common. In European History, students enjoy learning how WWI and WWII shaped not only present-day political borders, but also the political and economic debates we read in our headlines today. No matter the background or English level, students can find themselves in the lessons and connect with each other by engaging with the content.
AIS-S: What do you enjoy most about working at AIS-Salzburg?
AW: The smaller class sizes coupled with an extremely curious and driven student body not only make teaching here fun, but also make me a better teacher. I’m able to plan more complex lessons and activities because I know students will rise to the challenge. Students always impress me with the work they produce and the time they are willing to spend when something feels meaningful. I love being able to know each student’s strengths and growth areas to see how much growth is achieved in a single year. The progress made is so much more obvious when I can give each student more of my attention and it makes teaching that much more rewarding.
AIS-S: Do you have a favorite memory or moment from your time here so far?
AW: Sports Day 2026 this past spring is one of my favorite memories not just because we won (shout out to Team Lavender!), but also because the students across all teams were so positive, enthusiastic, and supportive of each other. Seeing the crowds of students cheering on the sidelines of a basketball game or hearing teammates encourage each other after a tough point in badminton was a great reminder of how special our community is. The gorgeous weather and backdrop of the Alps also served as reminders of how lucky we are to call Salzburg our home.
But I have to add that all the little moments in the classroom or dorms (from my time as an RA) could be considered favorite memories of mine. I love getting caught up in a conversation with a student about family, hobbies, or weekend plans. These moments are only possible at such a small school, where community and personal relationships are the foundation of everything else.
AIS-S: How do you describe AIS-Salzburg to friends, family, or parents who approach you about enrolling their child at the school?
AW: Anyone who asks where I work knows how much I love AIS-Salzburg. It’s the reason I have stayed for four years (and counting) despite only planning to work one year as an RA before moving to Spain. The students are kind, gracious, and motivated to make the most of the limited time they have at the school. The setting is picturesque and filled with opportunities for any type of adventure. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable and dedicated to the community. I truly believe that being a student, or even staff member, at the school exposes you to new ideas and challenges that meaningfully prepare you to engage with people and jobs around the world. AIS-Salzburg provides a safe environment for you to make mistakes, learn, and grow with the support of others behind you every step of the way.