What do you do here at Smithsonian Student Travel?
On a Smithsonian Student Travel tour, we make sure every detail is taken care of, and I help manage those details. I work specifically with our tours traveling to New York City. I cover responsibilities such as booking groups for Broadway shows and securing admissions to must-see New York sights like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Coming from a family of educators, I like knowing that my work makes incredible educational experience for students.
Let’s hear more about your family of educators.
Many members of my family work in education as teachers and administrators. Growing up, I loved to go and help my mom in her classroom. A commitment to the field of education has continuously been a part of my life. Though being a teacher wasn’t quite the right fit for me, I always knew that I wanted to work in education.
So, who would you say is your favorite teacher?
It would have to be my high school philosophy teacher, Mrs. Connell. Philosophy is an interesting subject, but she really made the class an exciting place to explore ideas and expand our horizons.
Since you travel to New York City quite a bit, what’s your favorite sight in the Big Apple?
Top of the Rock! I recently got to go for the first time and you get a spectacular view of Central Park. I also had the chance to go on the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building (most visitors just get to go to 86th) and I learned that the building was meant to have a dock for airships like Zepplins.
Where would you like to travel to of the places you haven’t visited?
Really, you could give me any opportunity to travel and I would go. If I had to choose, I would really like to travel west—California, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, any of those would be amazing.
What's the best thing about working at Smithsonian Student Travel?
Of course, knowing that we enrich thousands of student’s lives each year is one of my motivating factors, but I also think the staff is absolutely unbelievable. At Smithsonian Student Travel we have such a tight knit and hard working group, it is hard not to have fun at work.