What is your favorite travel memory?
I did a massive hike from the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica to the Pacific Coast; a journey that lasted 27 days. I was absolutely amazed by the rainforest, beaches, volcanoes, and biodiversity in Costa Rica. I've been twice since to check out our Sloth & Wildlife Sanctuary, and Sea Turtle Conservation centre!
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
I used to work in a law firm and I found the day to day subject matter was unrewarding and demotivating. Working for a company that brings meaningful travel opportunities to people from all stages of life has been a game changer. There's nothing better than introducing customers to life-changing travel opportunities!
If you're going to work full-time and stay engaged, you need to be proud of the company you work for, and feel that your efforts make a positive difference to your customers, and the planet.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
My favourite stories are the ones of our customers who were incredibly nervous to travel, and almost changed their mind several times. They were stuck a rut in their lives at home, and didn't know how to get out! With a lot of encouragement from our team, these customer took the plunge, and never looked back.
I remember one customer in particular who was very nervous to come to Canada for her Working Holiday, and even tried to cancel her trip! Once she arrived with the support of our team, she met a great group of friends, and was promoted at work within her first two months. She had a great year in the town she was in, learned to ski and snowboard, and saved some money. She then bought a van, and went on a 8 week road trip across Canada. Not only did she gain great work experience but she gained independence, met lifelong friends, made endless memories, and expanded her comfort zone exponentially.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
It's so hard to pick just one!
In terms of destinations, I'm very interested in seeing South Africa, and would love to volunteer at the Monkey Rehabilitation Project in South Africa. The foundation just released a documentary on YouTube that showcases the success of their foster mother programme for orphaned baby monkeys, and I would love to contribute to the fantastic research and rehabilitation work they are doing.
We also have our Big 5 Wildlife & Conservation project in South Africa which would come in close second for the chance to do be apart of their research, tracking, and conservation efforts.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
What makes us so unique is the incredible range of trips we offer. There is truly a trip for every age, every interest, and every experience and comfort level; whether they just graduated high school and want to work at a ski resort, or are in their late 70's and want to volunteer or teach overseas.
While having a wonderful time volunteering or teaching or working overseas, our customers are contributing to efforts to improve education, employment rates, habit and animal conservation, and so on.
We are all travellers ourselves, and we want to make sure every traveller feels supported, equipped, and excited for their adventure. We can tell we're excelling in this regard by the great feedback, pictures, and thank-you cards we receive, the travellers and students that sign up for more trips after their first!
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
All of us working at Global Work & Travel have had a travel experience change our lives in a wonderful way which makes us genuinely excited to support our customers through their own adventures.
If you have staff that are naturally eager to launch a new trip, or to answer a customer's call or question, you're going to have a successful company that draws attention, recommendations, and return traveller and students.