What is your favorite travel memory?
An island tour I went on when I was in the Philippines. This wasn't your average tourist-filled day tour. Instead, it was run by local fisherman, who'd built up a relationship with communities on nearby islands and were keen to show people "the real Philippines".
With just 10 people, we spent four days island hopping, spending the night with locals, and eating what they ate. The highlight was on one island - with only 60 residents - where they held a festival in honor of our arrival, complete with a feast and basketball game for us!
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
I guess because I founded and run the company, my answer here will be a little different - but it's certainly given me a sense of satisfaction to see something I created grow and become successful. It's also been immensely rewarding to see all the teachers we've helped go on to be successful.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
It's hard to pick one. We've had teachers fall in love who met through our program and teachers who've written to tell us about their amazing life in a city they'd never have been able to move to without being to teach there - those are the stories we like to hear.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
I'd want to teach in Spain for sure! I went a few times when I was backpacking and I love the overall vibe of the country as well as the fact that city puts its own, slightly unique stamp on Spanish culture.
We've got a program running in Barcelona and Madrid and we hope to expand to over cities soon.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
We really like to support teachers in new cities. We know that it's daunting trying to find work as a teacher so we do all we can to help them find work with schools, private students and just generally try to help out with the typical struggles an expat teacher faces when settling into a new place.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
Again, it goes back to the level of support we offer our teachers. We hear horror stories of places that throw teachers out into the wild with no backup.
But, because we strive to help our teachers be a success in whatever city they end up in, we get a lot of referrals which is great.
This has helped us grow without having to spend too much on marketing.