Staff Spotlight: Hannah DeMilta

Hannah works on the marketing team for TEAN from the Chicago office. She is a TEAN alum who studied abroad in Australia on the Gold Coast and then spent several years after graduation living and working in Sydney.

Tough question but an especially favorite travel memory was visiting Tokyo for the first time. It was sensory overload and everything I experienced was exciting to me. I wanted to walk in every stationery shop, try every item on the menu and push every button on the vending machine.

It reminded me of my very first time traveling abroad, when the ordinary things of every day suddenly feel like an adventure because you’re in a new environment.

I am always learning and growing. I attribute a lot of that to my colleagues. It’s a privilege to work for a company with so many globally focused and interesting people. It’s also made me reflect on what it means to be a responsible and socially conscious traveler.

The same lessons we teach our students in-country are things that I’ve learned as well -- like why we work with certain vendors or why we don’t ride elephants in Thailand.

My youngest sister recently became a TEAN program alum, she interned over the summer in Thailand. I’m obviously a bit biased, but hearing the positive impact this program had on her was special to me.

I love helping change the lives of all our students, but it was extra amazing that I got to also help change my sister’s life. She graduates soon and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

I would love to go on any of our programs, but if I had to pick one it would be our Semester in Shanghai program.

Shanghai is another city that left a strong impression on me after visiting. I stayed in our TEAN off-campus apartments (which are amazing BTW) last time I was there. I loved the neighborhood near the housing and around Fudan University. Oh, and the food also wins big points in my book. It’s not hard to imagine myself there for a semester.

Our experience and love for Asia Pacific make us unique. Our passion for this part of the world is something that links us together and makes it a fun place for me to work.

After living in Sydney, it was great to move to Chicago and have coworkers who understand where I had come from and the experiences I had in Australia.

I am especially proud of how the team works with our students -- we are still quite personalized in our approach and I think students and partners realize that when working with us.