My Role: I strive to create each Discover Abroad program with the same passion for learning, doing, and growing as with the very first program to New Zealand in 2000
Hometown: Spilsby, England, home of the intrepid explorer, Sir John Franklin
Favorite Things to Do: I love to teach on the programs, travel with my wife, and be in nature with our two boys.
My Favorite Discover Abroad Memory: The emails I receive from former students, sometimes days, months, and especially years after the program has concluded, reminding me of why I think I have the best job in the world.
Why Discover Abroad: To laugh with students, to learn about and play in some of the most dramatic environments on Earth, and to love the different peoples of the world to which we find ourselves intimately and inextricably connected.
My Role: At Discover Abroad, I hold the post of Assistant Director for Program Development. I work with faculty and host country contacts to create programs that are academically engaging but also fun for students. I teach regularly on many of our programs and enjoy working with students.Hometown: Difficult to say, I was born in Pittsburgh, PA, lived in Detroit, MI for several years before moving to Clarkston, GA for highschool. My parents now live in Tucker, GA, but I have lived for most of my adult life in Athens, GA. I’m a double Dawg who never left.
Favorite Things to Do: So many things! I like to ride my bike, watch sci-fi and animated movies, and hang out with my friends.
My Favorite Discover Abroad Memory: Some of my favorite memories are about times when the weather worked against us on a program. One year we were up in Lamington National Forest in southeast Australia and it had rained a half year’s worth of rain in two days. There was no electricity where we were, nor could we go out and do anything. We had a great time anyway! Everyone lined their flashlights up on the dinner table to create a Hogwart’s effect. We spent a lot of time in that lodge playing cards, telling stories, and really getting to know one another. Another time there was a tropical storm in Fiji that left us “stranded” on a tropical desert island. The students put together a talent show for the staff, and when they got back to the mainland they organized themselves to help clean up a school to prepare it for storm refugees. These events will remain etched in my memory forever.
Why Discover Abroad: One of the best ways to know oneself is to get outside the things that are most familiar. Go away from the things we take for granted to learn how beautiful and magical the world really is.
My Role: I work with the Discover Abroad office but spend most of my time with students in the field. There’s not many programs you won’t find me on during the year! Have a question about any of our programs – feel free to call or stop by the office and chat with me!
Hometown: Born and raised in Kennesaw Georgia, a town just a little over an hour and a half away from Athens. But Athens has become my wonderful home away from home.
My Favorite Discover Abroad Memory: There are too many incredible memories to name just one, so I will say this: I absolutely loved bonding with and learning from each field guide we had on the trip. I miss being able to go on hikes or swim in the ocean and whatever random questions I could think of, they always seemed to know the answer! But honestly? I could talk for hours about how much I love Discover Abroad and every single moment on my trip I will truly cherish for the rest of my life.
Why Discover Abroad: Discover Abroad is more than your average study abroad program. It takes us out of the relatively small bubble of where we live, immerses us in new cultures, allows us to visit and learn about drastically different environments and challenges the way we view the world. Where else can you have the opportunity to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef? Visit the Fiordlands of New Zealand (a place where even some New Zealanders haven’t had the opportunity to visit), study the surrounding planets of Earth and the Milky Way in the Outback, and create memories that last a life time? Discover Abroad can give you that and so much more.
My Role: I help students start and end their study abroad experience by helping them with all the steps to prepare before departure and then my job gets even cooler… I also get to travel abroad with students helping things run smoothly and helping teach about sustainability in the most beautiful places on Earth.
Hometown: I was born in upstate New York and moved to GA at a young age. Now I like to travel around and visit all the places I can.
My Favorite Discover Abroad Memory: One of my favorite Discover Abroad memories was getting to swim with wild dolphins in New Zealand. A dolphin swam right up to me and swam around me 3 times. We made eye contact, and it was so exhilarating. Another amazing memory for me was seeing the Great Barrier Reef for my first time. It was like I had entered a whole new world full of life. A dream come true for me.
Why Discover Abroad:
Discover Abroad allows students the chance to see and experience our world with hands-on, experiential-based learning. We not only immerse students in different cultures and explore so many drastic and unique environments, but we allow them to experience once-in-a-lifetime adventures. It is not often that you get to go make life-long friends, see breathtaking scenery, scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, swim with wild dolphins, cruise through fjords, kayak islands, and hike through pure nature. If you love to travel, Discover Abroad travels every 3 days to a new beautiful location that students explore and learn about. Join this amazing program that changes lives. I know it changed my life and still does.