What is your favorite travel memory?
In college I had the good fortune (or some would argue misfortune) to room with a guy named David from England, specifically a place called Winchester, about an hour south of London. After freshman year, I went with him to visit his home. We took a road trip one day through the countryside down to Cornwall. As he drove down the motorway I was staring out the window, not thinking about anything in particular, and then saw a collection of large rocks off in a field.
"Whoa! Was that Stonehenge?!" I excitedly asked David as we sped by. I figured it must not have been because such a remarkable, historic place would surely merit at least a mention by my trusty tour guide.
"Oh... yeah... I guess it was. I figured you wouldn't be interested. It's just a bunch of rocks."
Needless to say, David did not turn the car around, and to this day, I still haven't gotten a good look at the ole rocks. Thanks Dave.
Which destination is most underrated? Conversely, which is most overrated?
I'll have to play for the home-team here and say Mauritius is the most underrated. It's absolutely gorgeous - on par with the most beautiful islands in the world - with stunning beaches, crystal clear water, and beautiful mountains. Floating in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is a tropical paradise, and yet many people where I'm from in the States have never even heard of it.
The most overrated... hmm... Stonehenge? Yeah, let's go with that.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
So I've been around education for the past few years, working hand in hand with instructors to redesign their courses to be more active, engaging, and effective. But in that time, apart from a few TA roles, I had never done any teaching myself. At ALU, I've had the chance to get into the classroom and try my hand at many of the active learning techniques that I've been interested in for a while now. Through the classroom experience, I've deepened my understanding of teaching and learning while growing as an educator. It's been awesome starting out what I expect will be a lifelong journey as an educator.
What unique qualities does your company possess?
I think of ALU as a group of educational deviants and misfits. We're radically reinventing what higher education should be in the 21st century, and we're apologetically ambitious about it. We're bucking literally 1000 years of tradition with a totally new model for education. Our founder, Fred, described it as "moonshoot thinking" as unveiled a vision of 25 new universities for 10,000 students each all throughout Africa. As challenging as it sounds, we're already on our way, with out first campus up and running in Mauritius and our second accredited in Rwanda. And I think we have just the right amount of crazy to power us from here to 25.
Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of your current team.
I've never been more proud of this team than this past weekend. Late on Friday, a beloved student, colleague, and friend passed away from a pre-existing medical condition. We were all absolutely devastated, and we continue to grieve and mourn her loss. At the news of her passing, the whole community - faculty, staff, and students alike - rallied together to support each other. Students stood by and cared for their friends all day; faculty sat up talking with and supporting students all night. It was an unbelievable outpouring of love and compassion in the wake of a heartbreaking tragedy. I feel blessed to be a part of such a servant-hearted team and I'm grateful to be included in such a caring community.