My Ticket to the World!

Just the other day here in the office, I found myself in a discussion about my travels around the world. The conversation was much like others I’ve had on the same topic, “Wow, you’ve been like everywhere!” or “How’d you get to do all that?”. These remarks usually make me uncomfortable for some reason, however, the other day I realized – You know what, I have done some pretty cool things, I’d really like more people to know how and why I traveled so much when I did – So here area few of my experiences of travel as a student.

I have always used my education as my platform for travel – one of the reasons I’m so fond of my work here at Green Light Group Tours. I always reasoned that if I was going to pay tuition or class fees I may as well look into all of my options and get the most out of the experiences and expenses. This process all started very young, and I have to give my parents credit for it. While we were not wealthy or entitled in the least, they saw opportunity and allowed me to run with it. In 7th grade I travelled to Australia and New Zealand for 30 days gaining high school credit, diplomatic experience, and a bigger picture of life as a Student Ambassador for People to People. I was hooked.

High school came along and again there were opportunities for growth, learning, and TRAVEL! The band took me to Minneapolis and Disney World. Cheerleading took me to the Capitol One Bowl. My Spanish class gave me the opportunity to visit Mexico and Costa Rica. Of course there were expenses that came along with these opportunities, but hard work and fundraising was always worth it to take a 7 days all expenses paid trip to Costa Rica, right? I sold Christmas wreaths and paperweights, washed cars, held bake sales, and begged the right people when it was necessary.

As college approached, I entered the big leagues of student travel, and I accepted the challenge head on. I spent my Sophomore year on a study abroad to Australia, paying cheaper tuition than if I had been on my home campus of College of Charleston in South Carolina. I’d have been crazy NOT to do it, right? Plus I applied for all the scholarships, received a few of them, and then taught myself to bartend to pay for my diving trips to the Great Barrier Reef and a vacation with my mom while Down Under! This was it, I’d figured out the system and it was awesome!

While in Australia, I met fellow expert student travelers who gave me even more insight and ambition. The pinnacle off student travel has been introduced to me and I had to be a part of it – Semester at Sea through the University of Virginia.; 10 countries, 100 days, 12 credit hours, and a whirlwind of incredible experiences – all for the same price of my regular tuition plus travel expenses. This is the point in student travel where you do not let your mom rent the new Liam Neeson movie “Taken” that had just come out, buddy up with your new best friends and back pack around the world.

I rode camels at the Great Pyramids of Giza, took jumping pictures at the Taj Mahal, climbed the Great Wall of China, volunteered at an orphanage in Vietnam, and checked over 22 countries off my bucket list all before the age of 23.

Don’t get me wrong; I have student loans I will be paying off until I’m 9o. But in addition to my degree (which I somehow completed in only 4.5 years) I gained a lifetime of experience, saw a very large portion of the world, and have friends and contacts around the globe.

This is where my passion for student travel comes from. I have experienced first hand how using these opportunities while you’re young and involved in school and activities can show you the world. I am so blessed that I get to share this passion and hopefully instill it in other young people today through my work here at Green Light Group Tours.