What inspired you to join the team at AFS-USA?
I’ve always known that I wanted my career of choice to be an extension of who I am and what I stand for. The AFS mission of creating a more just and peaceful world through intercultural exchange and understanding is more than our organizational mission - it is the personal mission of all AFS staff and volunteers. The people you meet through AFS come from a myriad of backgrounds and experiences. It is an exciting, inspiring, and transforming place to be—the travel and adventure aspect of the job is also a perk!
Working at AFS, you meet amazing and inspiring people
Can you tell us about your role as the Field Marketing and Operations Specialist?
As the Field Marketing and Operations Specialist at AFS-USA, I work closely with our 4,000+ volunteers and staff around the country, and see the passion that drives them. I provide them with the tools and resources they need to find host families for our 2,000 hosted students, and recruit over 800 study abroad participants each year. Additionally, I manage many of our marketing projects and initiatives. The design, implementation, and promotion of these initiatives is pivotal for AFS to succeed in our national and local marketing efforts.
How do you help support AFS volunteers through this position?
In addition to tools and resources, I provide our outposted staff with the support they need to provide volunteers with training, team planning, and more. Volunteers stay up to date with organization-wide news through a digest that I send out bi-weekly, which also includes a call-to-action, or something they can do to promote AFS in their communities.
While maintaining online resources and requests, I also make sure to communicate with volunteers directly when they have questions or concerns. Volunteers are the backbone of AFS, and a large part of my job is to make sure we are collaborating with and supporting them.
Becoming a change-maker through AFS.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Recently, it was my pleasure to book a reunion trip for the winners of our Reel Life contest, the Lounibos Family, and their hosted student Lison from France. Being able to provide a host family and their student with a life-changing experience is one of the best parts of my job! Additionally, seeing the memories made by families and students across the country each year, and knowing that I played a part in making those happen, is very gratifying. It’s why we do what we do!
In what ways do you think intercultural exchange leads to peace?
Through intercultural exchange individuals, schools, and communities come to see the world through the eyes of someone different from themselves. They look more closely at who they are, and are given the unique ability to take a step back and inspect their worldview. Doing this leads to a greater understanding of why we do what we do, why others may see things differently, and pathways to compromise and diplomacy. Intercultural exchange leads to peace by creating people who are not afraid of the “other”.
How has your degree in Anthropology influenced the work you do today?
My degree in Anthropology truly opened my mind as an undergraduate student. Anthropology is all about understanding human origins, our nature, our differences, and what brings us together. It is also about our future and how to live on a unique planet, together.
It inspired me to travel abroad to experience other cultures first-hand, and also led me to the realization that you don’t have to travel far to meet those with a different perspective.
Making friends in Morocco
What lessons have you learned from your own international experiences that you hope AFS participants take away from their programs?
I would truly hope that AFSers step beyond their comfort zones and try the food at the bazaar, learn about the history of a place, look up from their phones or cameras and absorb their surroundings, and try to have a conversation in the local language. It is often not the Taj Mahal, the Louvre, or the Egyptian Pyramids of this world that make an impact on who you are.
Alternatively, it is the cafecito every morning in your favorite cafe, the boy waving to you from a rickshaw loaded with chickens, or a quick glance through a doorway into the lives of the people who live there that stay with you. I would also hope fellow-adventurers understand that you leave a footprint everywhere you go - what will yours look like, and how will people remember you?
Myself and a colleague, having some fun at an AFS Event.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Sometimes I wish I lived 200 years ago, when travel was truly exploration into unknown territory. In today’s world, adventure is defined in a much different way, and explorers seeking new lands often look past Earth towards the stars. But then I remind myself that to me, the world is still unknown territory. Seeing something on a screen is a far cry from breathing the air of a place. To me, travel means learning more about myself - my preconceptions, my strengths and abilities, but above all, the beauty in my life and all that the world has to offer.
Why do you think it is important for individuals to step outside of their comfort zones?
How would a bird know it could fly if it never stepped out of its nest? Take the leap!
What hopes do you have for the future of AFS-USA?
AFS-USA has touched thousands of people’s lives in ways we can’t fully comprehend. Who can tell where we would be without this organization dedicated to creating world-wide peace and citizen diplomats? I hope that AFS will continue creating global partnerships that will reverberate through the decades to come.
