Staff Spotlight: Peter McGovern

Peter McGovern is a passionate educator, avid traveler and entrepreneur. Travel, study abroad and language study have changed his life and opened so many doors that he started EdOdyssey to help share the world with more students. To date Peter has worked, lived and visited over 40 countries and speaks Spanish, English and Mandarin Chinese.

Aside from me, my family doesn't travel that much, especially my parents. So in 2017 when I (finally) was able to get my parents to visit Peru that was a pretty special moment for me.

It's a country where I have lived and studied for extended periods of time and to be able to share that with my parents was amazing. My parents have always been really supportive of my love for travel, but until this experience together I'm not sure they fully understood why I loved it so much.

One of my favorite memories was bringing my parents to an impoverished area outside of Lima where I volunteered at a school for over a year when I studied abroad during college. We spent the day there, visiting my former students, meeting families and teachers that I formerly worked with and participated in a service project.

Another favorite memory was my dad trying ceviche (one of my favorite Peruvian dishes) for the first time and saying, "wow, this is delicious."

I've led and participated in all of our trips and located and there is always something unique about each one. So having to pick a favorite one is like asking a parent to pick a favorite child, but I'll try.

I love our study abroad program in Lima, Peru because it was largely created taking into account the challenges and highlights of my personal experience studying abroad there. I suppose since it's also our longest program (up to two semesters) and includes three excursions around Peru I would choose this.

I also really love our custom trips to China because we have some really cool connections. Some of my favorite activities we regularly do are really fun, including the Beijing Opera mask workshop and a cooking class with a highly regarded local chef.

What makes us unique is our dedication to education and creating custom experiences for students. My team is amazing and is the backbone of the company. I feel blessed to be surrounded every day by people that are as passionate about sharing the world with students as I am.

Our entire team eats, sleeps and breathes what we do. I am proud of our team's entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to making each student's individual experience special.

I believe we're successful because we only do what we do great. We exclusively work in countries we know incredibly well where we have the connections, experience, and expertise to deliver what we promise: amazing, custom, and educational experiences.