Staff Profile

Name: Jorlann Miranda
Title: Customer Relations Coordinator Co-ordinator
Countries Visited: NZ, Singapore, Philippines, USA, England, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy
Where have you lived overseas and for how long? London for 1 year and lived in NZ when I was in High School
Favourite places you've visited? Prague, Barcelona, Paris and Florence!
Most memorable travel experience? Walking around in the streets of Rome and the Vatican, people watching in the middle of New York’s Times Square, walking up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, queuing up at Wimbledon for 6 hours!! Also seeing Stonehenge for the first time was breathtaking!
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas? Give everything a go and have no fears!

 

Staff Profile

Name: Bree Yates
Title: Customer Relations Coordinator
Countries Visited: United States of America (8 states and counting), United Kingdom, France, Japan.
Where have you lived overseas and for how long? California, United States of America. Lived there once for 4 months, loved it so much went back for another 4 months!
Favourite places you've visited? Japan, San Francisco
Most memorable travel experience? Road tripping from Colorado to California, driving on the wrong side of the road. Working on the ski fields in California and seeing the sunrise over the lake and the mountain every morning! Attending a traditional Scottish Burns Night, haggis....not as bad as I thought! I could go on forever....so many good things happen to you when you travel!
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas? Take every opportunity to have fun and see the place your visiting, as you never know when or if you will be visiting again!

Staff Profile

Name: Lisa Bell
Title: Program Coordinator
Countries Visited: New Zealand, USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Egypt & Malaysia.
Where have you lived overseas and for how long?
Lived in London for almost 2 years with a 2 month stint working in a shop on the Greek party island of Ios
Favourite places you’ve visited? New York, Barcelona, the Greek Islands and of course London
Most memorable travel experience?Riding a donkey up a very steep cliff in Santorini before watching the magnificent sunset at Oia, learning to ice skate in Hyde Park, paragliding in Austria, zorbing and jetboating in NZ, riding a camel next to the pyramids in Egypt and joining in the chanting and stein-guzzling at Oktoberfest.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas? Always ‘go with the flow’ – don’t restrict yourself to having everything planned out. Do your research but get tips from other travellers and locals when you get there. And if things don’t turn out the way you expected, you can usually get a good story out of it!

Staff Profile

Name: Lisa Alexander
Title: Senior Program Coordinator
Countries Visited: Vietnam, Thailand, United States, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Turkey, England, Scotland, Ireland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Netherlands, Croatia, Switzerland, Austria.
Where have you lived overseas and for how long?
Lived in London for almost 2 years with a 2 month stint working in a shop on the Greek party island of Ios
Favourite places you’ve visited? New York, Las Vegas, Cappadocia in Turkey and Munich- got to love those beer halls!
Worst place you’ve visited?
Nowhere, thankfully all my travel experiences have been major drama free!
Most memorable travel experience?Snorkelling off Koh Phi Phi in Thailand in the most beautiful clear water and suddenly finding myself surrounded by ‘Nemo’ clownfish, visiting a primary school in rural North Vietnam to teach children English, meeting people from all over the world over a stein of yummy German beer in the beer halls of Munich and also seeing things like the Colosseum and the Statue of Liberty for the first time is an amazing feeling Ill never forget!
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas? Throw away any fears or inhibitions you may have at home and live for the moment! You will never regret it!

 

Staff Profile

Name: Peter Doran
Title: Senior Program Coordinator
Countries Visited: Scotland, England, Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, Slovenia, Singapore, Indonesia, Fiji, New Zealand
Where have you lived overseas and for how long? Scotland for 2 and a half years, Ireland for 1 year, England for 6 months
Favourite places you've visited? Cape Tribulation (Far North Queensland) Venice, Scottish Highlands, Lake Bled in Slovenia
Worst place you’ve visited? Alicante and Benedorm, London (or parts of)
Most memorable travel experience? Being knee deep in a river of tomatoes at Tomato Fest in Spain. Or being chased by bulls in the Bull Run at Pampalona
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas? Always be open to new experiences and cultures.

 

Staff Profile

Name: Dylan Stewart
Title:Program Coordinator (Summer Camp USA)
Countries Visited: USA, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, New Caledonia, Indonesia (Bali), Vietnam, Thailand, UK, Ireland, Spain, France, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia.
Where have you lived overseas and for how long?I lived in upstate New York at summer camp in 2006, but I’ve also lived in London for a year in 2008-09, worked in a chateau in rural France for the summer of 2009, and lived in Vancouver for 8 months.
Favourite places you've visited? NYC, Austin, Mexico City, Paris, Madrid & St Petersburg are all cities I could live in, but for relaxation you can’t beat Isla Mujeres, off the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico.
Most memorable travel experience? A toss-up between the Christmas markets of Paris, or snorkelling with literally 100’s of whale sharks off the Mexican coast. Oh, or SXSW Music Conference in Austin, Texas - beeeeest.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas? To get the most out of the experience however, leave your inhibitions at the luggage carousel and DIVE IN!

 

Staff Profile

Name: Fran Russo
Title: Digital Content & Public Relations Coordinator
Countries Visited: Malaysia, India, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Malta, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Singapore, Philippines, Japan and Thailand
Lived Overseas: Italy (Florence)
Favourite places you've visited?: Boracay Island in the Philippines, India, Turkey and the UK!
Worst place visited?: None so far!
Most Memorable Travel Experience: Almost falling down a massive mountain while trekking the foot hills of the Himalayas, India! Living in Italy and becoming a true local in Florence and swimming in the Blue Lagoon in Fethiye, Turkey.
Most valuable lesson: Stay positive as a backpacker because the experience will blow your mind!!

 

Staff Profile

Name: Linda Janes
Title: Employment Coordinator
Countries Visited: USA, New Caledonia, Canada, Fiji.
Where have you lived overseas and for how long? I was in USA for 3 months. The first 2 months on Summer Camp USA and then backpacking for 1 month in California.
Favourite places you've visited? New York City was amazing, it’s very busy and the shopping is great. The Islands of New Caledonia were also very beautiful and relaxing.
Most memorable travel experience? Summer Camp USA was the best by far I met so many people and friends that I will keep for life. All my experiences there were amazing, different and can't be spoken for unless experienced.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas?
Be careful and don't trust just anyone! Everyone can cope on their own when travelling - so don’t be afraid!

 

 

Staff Profile

Name: Tennille Balaz
Title: General Manager
Countries Visited: Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, USA, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Turkey, Hungary, Malta, Japan, UAE, Thailand.
Where have you lived overseas and for how long? London, UK for two years.
Favourite places you've visited?
Cuba and New York!
Worst place visited? Iquique, Chile and Catania, Italy.
Most memorable travel experience? Camping on the sand dunes in Huacachina, Peru, Going to Graceland in Memphis, Buying illegal bananas in Cuba, Living it up in New York, Rio Carnival in Brazil and meeting Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, to name just a few!!
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas?
Always be open to new people and opportunities, and never take anything for granted!

 

 

Staff Profile

Name: Ashley Perkins
Title:Work Australia Assistant
Countries Visited:England, France, Scotland, Australia
Where have you lived overseas and for how long?
I have lived in the United States my whole life, and I just moved to Australia in September.
Favourite places you've visited?
My two favourite places that I have visited are Paris, France, and the Whitsundays in Queensland
Most memorable travel experience? My most memorable travel experience so far was when I went skydiving in Wollongong. It was my first time and I was terrified but it was amazing and I was so happy that I did it.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas?
The most valuable lesson that I have learned from living and working overseas is to be open minded about new experiences and job opportunities because it makes the transition much easier and enjoyable.

 

 

 

Staff Profile

Name: Simon Lock
Title: Digital Content Coordinator
Countries Visited: United States of America, Mexico, England, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Vietnam
Where have you lived overseas and for how long? Student Exchange to Mesa, Arizona USA.
Favourite places you've visited? Hiking into the Grand Canyon was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I also loved Paris!

Most memorable travel experience? Losing my wallet in London was interesting but prob the most memorable would be getting to the top of the Eiffel tower.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from living and working overseas?
You never know what amazing experiences you'll have when you are travelling. The best thing is to be willing to try new things and make the most of your travels.