What inspired you to join the team at Outward Bound Costa Rica (OBCR)?
Five years prior to joining the OBCR team I had studied abroad in Costa Rica with another travel company. I loved the country and hoped to return one day. This position came across my radar and it was the perfect fit for combining my love for Costa Rica and passion of outdoor adventure. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Scuba Diving in Panama on OBCR Semester Course
Can you tell us about your role as the Director of Marketing & Communications?
My position has evolved from solely media and marketing into developing strategies for amplifying OBCR’s reach, serving as the spokesperson for all media and public relations, training instructors on communication procedures, cultivating new partnerships, and ensuring all materials disseminated from Outward Bound Costa Rica align with our branding and values.
What do you love most about your job?
This is without a doubt the best job I have ever had and it is largely because of the people. Everyone from my co-workers, local Ticos (Costa Ricans), to instructors are a dream to be around. It is rare to find a job where you genuinely want to hangout with your colleagues after hours. They’ve become my second family and that kind of warm environment seeps into every part our courses.
You have a background in Health Services and Spanish, as well as Photography and Travel. How does this influence the work you do today?
Yes, I studied Spanish and Health Services back in university thinking that my parents’ knack for the medical field would kick-in, but my after class hobby of taking photos for campus events combined with my dream to live abroad took over after uni.
Traveling in Uganda for work in 2014
As a teenager, I was dissuaded from pursuing photography as it was “not a viable career path.” I cannot tell you how wrong that was and how many doors my side gig has opened up for me. Today, in addition to my directorial role, I take new staff headshots, groups shots of our students, and venture out on course from time to time with groups for new marketing material. Speaking Spanish, taking photographs, and traveling sums up a big part of my work life now in Costa Rica.
What is your favorite aspect of OBCR to market?
I’d say sharing stories from our alumni. The most authentic way to market is to have it come from the words of our course participants. For me, the highlight of my day is when an alumni sends a Facebook message, writes in to our website chat, or emails us to share how much their course has influenced or made an impact on their life. We’ve even had a few students write their college essay on their course experience. It’s one of the many reasons why I love my job.
What challenges do you face in attempting to reach your target audience, and how do you overcome them?
To be honest, one of the barriers has been our outdated website! The website is visually straight out of the early 2000s with a muddy background, too much text, and old textured graphics. It affects our target audiences connection to us, and if we didn’t have such great referral traffic from our alumni then I think we’d be in trouble. Our new site launched in October 2018, which has been one year in the making. This is quite fast given that it was a complete overhaul done mostly in-house. Take a look—I hope you like it!
OBCR Coffee Tour with Instructor and Course Chaperon
If you could participate on an Outward Bound Costa Rica, which program would you choose and why?
I already have! I think it’s so important for staff members to experience a course themselves to know exactly what they are marketing and to share personal anecdotes to interested parties. I’ve been on four Outward Bound Costa Rica courses since joining the team—scuba diving in Panama and volunteering at an orphanage in Nicaragua with a Semester Course, completing service projects for the Bribri indigenous community in Talamanca with Girl Scouts, and backpacking for 8 days on Custom Course with 8th graders from California. Each course is an unforgettable experience, but there’s truly nothing like backpacking through remote rainforests, rappelling waterfalls, consuming platefuls of delicious food from homestay families, and collapsing each night in a sleeping bag under planetarium-like stars.
Why do you think it is important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures?
Gosh, countless reasons. Here are my quick top three:
1) Traveling and experiencing new cultures is a bridge to breaking down barriers that divide us. We are more alike than we think. There are too many forces in this world working to pinpoint our differences. Be one of those individuals that unites us.
2) Traveling and experiencing new cultures is the most fulfilling way to learn and grow. I never got that book-smarts gene that both my older and younger sisters have, so for me, and I think for many others, the most natural form of learning is through first-hand experiences. Get out and discover the world!
3) Traveling and experiencing new cultures makes us happy. I don’t know about you, but when I’m traveling, I never feel more present and fulfilled. I am curious. I’m not worrying about a single thing in the past or future. I am fully living in the moment. I am happy.
Whitewater Rafting on OBCR Custom Course in Costa Rica
How does Outward Bound Costa Rica work to combine travel with experiential education?
Our courses are not for vacationers expecting a leisurely getaway. Outward Bound Costa Rica experiences are interactive, emotional, challenging and thought-provoking—all of which are key to stimulate learning on a deeper level.
On course, we take you to the less traveled routes where the rainforest, rivers, and reefs become your classroom. Whether you’re in a dense cloud rainforest, gliding through colorful reefs, or battling whitewater rapids, you’re constantly learning more about your surroundings, working as a group to overcome challenges, discovering who you are as a leader, and building friendships that will last long past course has ended.
What hopes do you have for the future of Outward Bound Costa Rica?
I hope to connect more students and adults with Outward Bound Costa Rica because it’s not just a dive into a new culture and country. On course, you discover more about yourself and your strengths and capabilities as an individual and leader. Each day is a new challenge and learning moment. And as someone who has lived it, it’s an incredible journey that I wish everyone could experience.
