World Language Department Chair
Grades Kindergarten-5 Spanish Teacher
Bea was born and raised in Mexico City. As a teenager, she spent a year in Paris studying in a Catholic boarding school. Upon her return, she enrolled in a French-speaking high school. As she raised her three daughters, she taught French, Spanish, and English to business professionals, college students at Universidad Ibero Americana, and school-age children. Bea married Dennis Sweeney in July of 2000 and moved with family to Ligonier. After graduating with honors from Chatham University with a double major in French and Spanish, she began teaching Spanish and French at Valley School. Working at the Valley School has been her most fulfilling professional position, as she is passionate about sharing her language and culture.
Bea loves the tranquility and beauty of rural Pennsylvania. She enjoys gardening, reading, traveling, sharing good conversation and home-cooked Mexican food with friends, and spending time with her daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. She also loves to travel, and spends as much time as possible with family and friends in Mexico.