Staff Spotlight: Monica Alarcon

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Program Advisor
Monica loves travel and books. She pursued a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's degree in marketing. She now collaborates with Projects Abroad as a Program Advisor for North America.

What is your favorite travel memory?

Projects Abroad employee and child

Visiting China was definitely my most memorable travel experience. It was my first time visiting Asia, so it was like nothing I had ever seen before.

Walking through such ancient paths and temples and getting to know such a rich history definitely changed my perspective of the world and my role in it.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

Projects Abroad has made me realize the huge difference that a single person with the desire to help can make and that frontiers really are just in our minds.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

We had a volunteer from Australia joining us for a Care project in Bolivia where she collaborated with a local orphanage.

Her 16-week project changed the way in which she viewed the world and she discovered her true calling.

She realized the urgent help that children in Cochabamba needed and when she got back home she took it upon herself to found her own NGO (TIA) to continue supporting the children through donations that come all the way from across the world.

She has now moved back to Bolivia entirely and continues to provide free housing, food, and training to the teenage boys and girls that leave the orphanage when they turn 18, making sure that they are healthy, skilled, and independent.

Volunteering abroad is truly an eye-opening experience that is destined to change the lives of everyone involved for the good.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I would love to be part of our Khmer project in Cambodia and get to learn all there is to know about this fascinating culture.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

Flexibility definitely sets up apart. We are able to find a project where the volunteers' interests and goals are met completely. We have also been able to accommodate volunteers with disabilities which makes me especially proud.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

Honesty, transparency, and safety standards.