Tonya Tooley - Author Interview

You just came back from your European trip for Rate My Study Abroad and Life After Study Abroad. How was it? What were the challenges that you had to overcome along the way?

Europe is a beautiful place to visit, I got to see Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and England. It was a great experience because I was able to talk with so many study abroad students. Overall, they were all loving their study abroad experience. It was a great reminder of why working in international education is so fulfilling- we are helping change young people's lives for the better. In terms of a challenge, the hardest part was the short time I had in each location. Some cities I visited we were only there for one night so there wasn't a lot of time to really feel like I had experienced that locations culture.

With two roles under your belt, how do you manage your time?

Having two roles can be very challenging at times. My favorite new time management structure is having my "must complete" tasks for the day and assigning each task with a time slot. Typically I give a task one hour to complete, and if it isn't done in that time frame that means I have to come back to it later, or save it for tomorrow. It helps me get through the very important things each day.

When you were still in university, you spent two weeks in Masese, Uganda. Why pick Uganda from the many countries in the world? What did you do there?

During my undergraduate degree I was an honors student, which meant I had to do an honors thesis. I knew that I was not interested in just writing a long paper and doing a bunch of research about some random topic. I wanted to travel, and make a positive impact. The opportunity for going to Masese really just fell into my lap through some personal connections. The CEO of the non-profit, HELP International is from my hometown, Loveland, Colorado and they have a community development project in Masese. So I gave her a call to see if she had anything that would relate to my business degree that I could work on for my thesis.

Originally I was just going to work with her in the states, to organize the handmade jewelry that they purchase from the women of Masese. However, as I began the project and developing what I was going to focus on the opportunity to visit Uganda came about. In my time there I found my passion for helping the women of this impoverished community. I taught a business class to the women there to help them think through money management and sustainably selling their handmade jewelry. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and someday I hope to go back and see if HELP International was able to implement any of the recommendations I eventually made them at the end of my thesis project.

You were an honor student at Colorado State University. How did study abroad affect your grades?

Study abroad didn't have any effect on my GPA. My program was a pass fail set up so while I was abroad I wasn't as stressed about getting an A. However, I learned invaluable lessons while I was studying abroad. I think that honors students and university faculty can put too much emphasis on "the grade" when at the end of the day your quality of learning is what really matters. I learned the valuable art of networking, and maintaining connections both personally and professionally. I was exposed to new outlooks on the world and was able to really gain a much stronger culturally diverse perspective.

You have been to a lot of places, where would you like to go next?

That is a great question, and a very difficult one to answer. I would say I am torn between somewhere in South America and Australia/New Zealand. South America would be amazing because I could work on my Spanish and spend time in countries that are part of my continent. However, I have a lot of friends and contacts from university in Australia and it really is a beautiful country-- so I'd love to visit there as well. You are a dancer. What is the best country to visit for cultural dance?

Yes I grew up dancing, actually, while I studied abroad in Prague I took several dance classes at a couple local dance studios- which was a great experience. I also learned that the Polka, which is typically associated with Poland, since it is their national dance, actually originated in the Czech Republic. Spain would also be a great place to visit for cultural dance, you can take Flamenco and Spanish classes together. WHile I was in Granada, I got to visit a couple of schools that offered both of those courses which I found fascinating.

Looking at your Coca-Cola, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and Rate My Study Abroad internships, you have done a few internships. Are there any tips you can share with interns in the field of marketing?

Internships are one of the biggest resources you have while in college. They give you the opportunity to really see what it is like to work for a particular company or in a particular industry. My biggest piece of advice is to utilize that resource, and you are never too young!  My first internship was my Sophomore year of college with campus activities. Most students wait until after their junior or senior year to pursue an internship- which is fine, however they have limited themselves in the amount of experience they will have post graduation. I think it is much easier to realize that you didn't love your internship, than a few months or years into your first "big-kid" job realize its not the right company or industry for you.

Rate My Study Abroad and Life After Study Abroad are resources for students planning their trips and returning from their trips.  What is the one thing you wish you had known before you studied abroad?

Before studying abroad I wish I would have had more information about plug adapters and converters. I really didn't research that, and I was left with adaptors that didn't always fit into the outlets to the locations I traveled. But on a more serious note, I wish I would have been more prepared for coming home. I didn't realize how much my relationships had grown while abroad, and how much I had become accustomed to life in Prague. I remember right before I left the U.S. to head to Prague at my study abroad orientation they said something to the effect of "don't forget about reverse culture shock" however, at that time that was so far from being on my radar. When I got home I was not prepared for feeling so bored, restless, and bummed about missing my friends.

Are there any big plans in the future for Rate My Study Abroad and Life After Study Abroad?

Yes we have a lot of plans for both organizations! RateMyStudyAbroad is going to be posting some great content that we got this summer in Europe, so keep an eye out for that. Also, we are wrapping up our review contest, so there will be one lucky winner of a MacBook Air in December!

In terms of Life After Study Abroad we are planning Issue 2, and have yet to release "where in the world" we will be distributing it to post-study-abroad students. We had a lot of great successes over the summer, and students and faculty were all very excited to have a very informative resource about "Life After Study Abroad!