A recall of why headcounts are important.
I will sleep in the garden! - A Study Tours Story
A Blast at Hershey Park - A Study Tours Story
TBT: From "New York, New York", to "California Girls"
How about a little Throwback Thursday #tbt? I worked for Study Tours at Rider University from 2007 to 2011. It was an amazing 5 years. One of the best opportunities to interact with the students was to put on a Talent Show. We recruited students to show off their talents through song and dance. We had some pretty impressive talents, but nothing topped our staff talents!
Disco Nights
Celebrating July 4th
When I worked at Rider University for Study Tours we would get this email on the 4th of July from our supervisor. The email would be really heartwarming about how he felt to be an American. The essence would include that what we were doing on a day-to-day basis for our international students was not only important, but that we were so incredibly lucky to be charged with such a task. Our job included, above everything else, to provide the students with a truly American experience. He would talk about our freedoms and pride that we have for our country. It really was inspirational and students that were with us on July 4th would get to experience a special celebration.
Becoming a Leader
I'm just a week or so away from embarking on a new journey as President of the NC Society of Government Meeting Professionals. I am both excited and nervous to take on this challenge. I think that's a normal feeling.
We have a retreat planned for July 9 and I'm in charge of it. *Cue scared face* I've never run a retreat, so I actually have no idea what to expect, but I have lots of ideas to discuss with the incoming board. Although I am terrified at the thought of taking on something new, leadership in general is not a new thing to me. Here is my advice on leadership.
Take Your Breath Away... Literally
In the summer of 2010 I had a student named Carlo with the Rider University Study Tours program in Los Angeles. Carlo had the privilege of staying 3 whole weeks in the United States, but this was not the original plan. He was on tour with us scheduled for just two weeks, but after 5 days of sightseeing the unexpected happened.
The Things We Do To Please Our Clients
What?... I am Spider-Man
There are times in events that you just have to laugh.
My job with Study Tours put the safety of the students as the top priority. Of course, this priority was swiftly followed by a myriad of requests to maximize the students' stay. Although we would do all we could to ensure the safety of the students, sometimes the students didn't always think with their heads - most of the time it was with their egos, or just not at all.
Keep calm and carry on... Study Tours style
It was summer 2008, and I was in the midst of a second crazy summer with Study Tours. But, I had finally earned a day off, it was actually more like two days off, which was unheard of. We had sent almost the entire staff, group leaders, and students to Washington DC for the weekend. I worked incredibly hard to get the staff and the buses ready to depart. At 2:30 p.m. on Saturday I was free!... At least until about 9 o'clock the next night.
Planning for the Unexpected
In my previous position at Rider I would take hundreds of high school students visiting from Italy, Kazakhstan, Spain, Portugal, and other places on tour to New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. I was essentially a cruise director without the boat. The students were visiting in the summer for two weeks where they would go to class for 3 hours in the morning and learn English. The remaining 21 hours was up to the Study Tours Counselors to take them to various tourist attractions.