I had countless beautiful travel memories! But my favorite is definitely when I went to Lake Louise in Banff in 2014.
I had my dream come true by doing a road trip in western Canada and finally got to sit there on my own and take in the stunning but peaceful view of the Lake. The great nature always fascinates me the most where many great memories were left.
The biggest change comes from within. We meet students from all parts of the world and see them grow every day, and being part of this program, I also become more open to different cultures.
I love being with our students and listening to how much they find China a great place to explore. Working with EF as a school director also helps me understand customer services are everywhere in the school.
It has to be the transformation that I see in our students, both in language and, more importantly, in the ability to embracing differences. Hayato from Japan did not speak a word of Mandarin when he first arrived in April and was quite negative towards the cultural difference between China and Japan; however, after a 9-month course, he can now have conversations with all the staff in Mandarin, and he's mentoring new students with some personal tips to help them adapt to the Chinese culture.
A star student for sure! :)
The language Academic Year program! Seeing how much fun our students have had and how much they have grown as a person really inspired me. You can not only improve your language skills during an academic year program but also make friends and become more independent. Just be a bit more specific, I wish I could also do a one-year program in EF Barcelona learning Spanish one day. :)
I think we do live by our company's core values and mission of "Opening the world through education", which gives us motivation and reasons why we work.
When people share the same values and a common goal, they work as a team and give their best towards the customers/students day in and day out. And that's what makes EF very very special. I am proud of the team every single minute because we are changing the world for a better place by breaking down barriers through education! Seriously!
I've been working with EF for almost 10 years now and I've been also speaking to a lot of colleagues, and if you ask them the same question, the answer is going to be the same: it's the PEOPLE, and people with the good company culture fit.
I truly believe there's no job that cannot be done by a group of people with a tremendous passion for education that paired up with the "Nothing is Impossible" philosophy. In the meantime, being flexible and agile as a company is also key in my opinion.