What is your favorite travel memory?
Getting completely lost in the backstreets of Yangoon on my first day in Myanmar, and stumbling upon a run-down Pagoda where children were climbing up the scaffolding. An old monk came out of the pagoda and invited me in for tea with the children. We ended up spending hours sitting together, trying to communicate with wild hand gestures, and eventually someone started singing, which led to me teaching the children a simple Maori song, and them teaching me a traditional Burmese nursery rhyme. I still remember it!
Which destination is most underrated? Conversely, which is most overrated?
I think the best destinations are always the undiscovered, unruly places untouched by tourism. Turkey has some amazing hidden gems, and I love the small towns in Nepal and Laos. India is breath-taking and beautifully chaotic. Overrated? Paris was a lot dirtier than I expected, and I didn’t love London as much as I thought I would (though it rained the entire time I was there so that didn’t help), but I've never found a place I didn't connect with at least on some level.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
Genuine passion for your company’s product, and buy-in from all staff in the values and mission of the organization.
For AUT, our product is education, and our values are all centered on student success. Everything we do as staff is to provide opportunities for students to succeed in their degrees, and in their goals post-graduation.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
I have been given so many opportunities to grow as a member of the AUT community, both in my capacity as a staff member (working in many areas of international student recruitment and support), and as an AUT student (experiencing the hands-on learning that is relevant in the real world). I’ve traveled extensively with my role, met incredibly inspiring students and staff from around the globe, and have completely cemented my belief that an international exchange is one of the best experiences a student can add to their degree.
Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of your current team.
Every semester the AUT International Support team collaborate with AUT Maori staff to run a weekend of activities for new international students at our Marae (a traditional Maori meeting house). The weekend culminates in students performing songs and dances from their own cultures as a way of saying thanks. Each semester I leave the weekend feeling incredibly proud to be part of such a special celebration and sharing of cultures, and buzzing about the power of international education to break barriers.