Nadine Farrag

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Nadine comes from Egypt’s capital Cairo, where she graduated with a dual degree in Marketing & Journalism from the American University in Cairo. During her undergraduate years, she went on a summer abroad with Forum-Nexus and has been part of the team ever since.

What is your favorite travel memory?

I have traveled to so many beautiful places it is very hard to pick! My top two would be my first summer with Forum-Nexus and my trip to Jordan. Before my first summer with Forum-Nexus, I had traveled to Europe several times before but this was the first time without my family.

It was very life-changing to me in so many aspects. I was alone so it was a push outside my comfort zone and it taught me A LOT.

I made friends from all over the world. I experienced things like a local would. I came back a more international human-being. As for Jordan, this is where I first met my now fiancé so it will always be a special trip.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

I first started off with Forum-Nexus as an intern and now I am a senior staff member. Every year I would get exposed to more complex tasks that would teach me something different on a professional level. On a personal level, traveling every year with new people and to new cities means more life-changing experiences. I have grown to become a more accepting tolerant person who is more aware of global cultures, politics, etc.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

The best stories are always when I hear about how Forum-Nexus was life-changing to them, how it has impacted their career choices, and how they’ve become more aware of what’s happening in the world around them. Also, learning about the reunions being held around the world makes me so proud of this program and it’s family-like setting.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I would always choose new programs with new cities. Right now we’re planning a program in Asia and I can’t wait already! I love going to new places, meeting new people, and making new memories. I’ve only been to a few Asian countries so this program is the top of my bucket list especially that I've never been to any of the cities included!

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

Forum-Nexus is unique in so many aspects. First of all, it’s addictive. Many of our alumni return the following year because they just can’t get enough of that life-changing experience. Also, not many companies can run a multi-country program that involves a lot of logistics that smoothly and at the same time maintain excellent levels of students’ satisfaction.

Our program director is a reason why this company is very unique too. He’s extremely energetic, so much fun, multilingual (12 languages!), and very well informed of what’s happening all over the world. During my past 7 years, I have not found one student that is not absolutely in love with Hugo (or DJ Hugo as he’s nicknamed).

The team is very special because of its diversity. We come from 4 different countries in 3 different continents and yet it feels like family. No matter the time zone differences, we still manage to run operations very smoothly around the clock. Everyone is very helpful and cooperative which makes such a small team handle that amount of operations.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I believe our secret recipe is the team; we all work towards the same goal of creating life-changing experiences. Being diverse ourselves allows us to offer an experience that is suitable and at the same time exhilarating for all the different students we get. Most of us have been students before staff members and so we’re very close to our students. We understand what they want and we make it happen.