Staff Interview with Angelica Pinzon

What inspired you to work become a part of the Voyager Study Abroad team?

The idea of offering students an experience that will transform and inspire them in their professional careers excited me. I studied, worked, and lived abroad and learned first-hand that the best way to learn is through experience. It’s easy to travel abroad and see a country like a tourist, just scratching the surface of the place you visit. Voyager goes the extra mile and shows their participants what truly makes a city special. They live and learn things they wouldn’t learn with any other study abroad.

Our team is passionate about having our students discover the most exciting things about Europe. We have a very special tram.  Our main focus is to connect young talent with people who are driven and are innovators in Europe. We want our students to leave Europe inspired by people who are shaping their future. We think we have selected the best cities and arranged the best activities to make this happen.

What makes the Voyager Study Abroad unique?

We want our participants to truly experience the countries and cities we visit. We want them to see beyond the obvious and superficial layer of Europe. Going to museums and walking tours is great and we do include many cultural activities with our program, but our primary focus is on professional growth:  networking, seminars, workshops, and activities that can only found in the cities that we visit. We provide the flexibility for our students to enjoy the program in their own way. Our participants tell us that is tons of fun and a life-changing experience!

How do you help ensure students have a safe, fun, and meaningful time while with Voyager?

We provide our students the best full-time 24/7 support from professors and staff that know the countries and cities we visit. We select the best cities and accommodations (usually four to five star hotels) in the safest, city-center locations in each city; we provide the most comfortable and fastest inter-city transportation (planes and high-speed trains) to each city and roundtrip transportation to all activities. We work with many different companies and organizations to provide our participants the best possible experience and are always looking for new and authentic activities to do in each city. We include cooking classes, scavenger hunts, city challenges, wine tastings, and much, much more.

What made you want to work in international education?

Studying Abroad was a key experience in my professional life. Thanks to my study abroad experience, I moved from Colombia and have been living in Spain for the past seven years. I’ve grown as a professional and learned things that completely changed the way I perceive things and my life.

Also, from my own experience, I know how hard it is to actually see and enjoy the best a European city has to offer. You can hear from friends and read incredible things online, but once you are in Europe it is hard to know where to start.

Initially, I was stuck with all the typical tourist activities and that was it. I wanted more, much more… I wanted to be inspired, to talk to interesting people and go to eat to the right places. So it was important for me, now as a local that loves Europe, to partner with a very special program, with an excellent university sponsor like Endicott International – College of International Studies (CIS) and great professors that all have the same inspiration to share Europe and the world with enthusiastic young people.

I want to make sure they get their most out of their European experience. Our team is committed to ensuring that our participants know Europe’s people, customs, culture and everything that makes it great.

How do you overturn the common fears and challenges students studying abroad face?

I strongly believe our participants have to face new challenges to grow. I like that we do provide time to do their own thing, empowering them to explore, get lost, and discover. However, they always will have our support, we are always there to answer questions, and provide support. We guide them as much as they want and need to make their experience abroad completely safe, but also amazing. We gladly share our expertise and provide our participants whatever they need. Our participants have the most unforgettable experience and feel accomplished after their time abroad.

Part of the advantages of studying as a group, is that you feel more secure knowing that you are not alone. You are ready to live and try new things and the people you meet abroad and share these experiences with will become lifelong friends.

Seeing as how you have had a lot of past experiences in communications and design, how has that helped you in your current role?

I’ve been lucky enough to work as a head of marketing company and five start-up companies. However, from a marketing and branding perspective it has been a real challenge to effectively convey the many attributes of the Voyager program to prospective participants. There are so many incredible features that make Voyager unique and fascinating, it is difficult to describe in a paragraph or two.

What supplemental activities and events can students participate in while attending your study abroad programs?

Connecting people! Europe is trending in the world. And the people and talent that you can find here is incredible. Our goal is to inspire our students so once they to go back home, they can confront their fears and challenges and achieve great things.

Why do you think international experience is valuable to students in the world today?

International experience or international education helps young people in their professional pursuits and teaches them a different set of values that will help shape their future.

Our participants learn how to face challenges, solve problems, and communicate more effectively. We are living in an era where changes and innovation happen quickly. Young people need to learn how to adapt to change. They appreciate opportunities to look outside the bubble.

We can find all sort of information online, we can see as many videos as we like, but fiction doesn’t even approach reality. It isn’t until you live your own experience that you know what you are made of. The abroad experience should make the participant feel accomplished and fulfilled in a truly exciting way. This experience helps our participants take on new challenges with less apprehension when they return home.

What do you love most about your job?

I work on the creative side - brainstorming, getting inspired and coming up with new ideas is always fun! So I love to work along Mike on the Itineraries and routes, to plan how to best position the brand, but what I like most is to design unique and authentic experiences for our participants.

Is there anything exciting in the works that we should look out for in 2019?

We have exciting plans for 2019! It’s time to give Study Abroad an upgrade!

We are focusing on offering two-week modules that offer more variety and greater choices of itinerary to our students. So instead of doing five countries per month, we are going to offer two-week modules that include one or two countries and several cities. Participants can pick which countries and cities they are interested in.

We are also offering new classes, focusing on 21st century themes, like innovation. We are including great activities that enhance our classes.  We are focusing on connecting talent. For every city we are finding people and organizations that will inspire our participants. Also, new cultural experiences that go beyond the typical tourist activities. Study Abroad should inspire participants to become global citizens and leaders. Anyone can see Europe like a tourist. Don’t get me wrong, that is really important, but what we offer is a life changing experience.