Staff Spotlight: Mark Lee Hochberg

My favorite travel memory has to be my first trip to Spain. Upon arriving in San Sebastian the beach city vibe and foodie culture absolutely felt tailor made to my sensibilities and passions. Being from Southern California the beach felt like home but the Spanish neo-classical architecture of the Parte Vieja, the pintxo restaurants, and the walking tours in the city that make up part of the Camino de Santiago all made the experience of traveling and living abroad a memory that I will cherish forever!

I think that the city of Bilbao is the most underrated. It has a reputation of being an industrial city which probably keeps a lot of potential tourists away but upon visiting the city I found the cultural offerings of the Guggenheim Museum to be second to none. The most overrated city is Paris. Long lines at all of the attractions and the food isn't as good as advertised.

I believe that the biggest factor in being a successful company is customer service. If a company can deliver what the customer desires on time and within the budget given, then that company will develop of positive reputation. There is no advertisement better than a positive reputation.

Since I began working for SPI Abroad, I have deeper appreciation for the hard work that goes into planning for a successful study abroad experience for students. Careful recruitment of highly qualified staff, strategic planning of extra curricular activities that explore the target culture and outstanding customer service are some of the traits that I have focused on developing for the benefit of the students who travel with SPI Abroad.

SPI Abroad has a verifiable track record of success when it comes to customer satisfaction. Our students and their families benefit from our experience in producing outstanding study abroad programs that focus on target language acquisition, cultural immersion and safe travel experience for their students.

During the final week of our month long program in San Sebastian, a group of students came together to tell me and my Program Director that they had decided to try and come back for another study abroad experience next year. Nothing says success like a repeat customer. I was especially proud to be a part of a team that helped a group of students create life long friendships, memories and a desire to continue their study abroad experience.

The best story that I have heard from a return student is that their return trip was even more fulfilling than their original experience. It is never easy to live up to the expectations of a student who has already taken part in the study abroad experience but to have heard them tell me that they second trip was even more outstanding was truly appreciated.