Before entering the program, I had already travelled to a handful of countries. I was indulging into my desire to explore the unknown and was able to enjoy the breathtaking wonders that our world has to offer. I was able to experience white water rafting down the tallest rafting waterfall in New Zealand, climb to the top of an active volcano in Italy, see the birthplace of the Olympic games in Greece, watch some of the most dangerous animals in Australia, and as you can probably imagine the list goes on and on. The only way that these journeys became possible, were because, I was able to join the travel club in high school. I was living in a world of adventure and little did I know, that joining the travel club was just the beginning of the passion I now have.

I graduated from the Travel and Tourism program in 2015, through one of the colleges’ regional campuses in Sioux Lookout. This experience in itself was a whole different world then what I was used too. I didn’t have a teacher in the same room as me, except virtually through the computer. I was able to still live at home, work part time, and go to school full time. You really have to be dedicated to your studies when the majority of it is all online and through distance. At the end of the program we went abroad on a voluntourism trip to China. We literally went to the other side of the world, here a lot of the group experienced culture shock for the first time. Some of us got to climb to the top of the Great Wall, kiss a fish for good luck, eat roasted scorpions on a stick, and we got to see panda bears in their native country. All in all, we had a great time!

Having come from a small town of 5500 people, the choices for jobs in the Tourism industry are quite limited. I walked into the program with my head held high and with a positive attitude and said “I’m going to get a job with the busiest airline that this town has.” Two weeks before graduation, an opportunity arose and I jumped right on it. Two days after completing the program I had a position with Wasaya Airways; as a Customer Service Agent. 10 months into the job I was promoted to Operations Coordinator and then at 17 months with the company, was again promoted to Assistant Station Manager for Sioux Lookout.

None of this could have become possible without the help of Giannina or Rod. These two believed in all of us and gave us their continued support. I encourage anyone who is going to take this program to take full advantage of any opportunity that they are presented with. Go out and reach for your dreams. I know I did and I get to walk into work every day enjoying what I do!

 

“Dream, Believe, Achieve”

 

At the young age of 51 years old I realized I needed a new challenge in life.  In 2014, I enrolled in the Tourism Travel & Eco Adventure Program at Confederation College.  My love for travelling and meeting new people was the reason I choose this particular program. 

 

Being a mature student I found the two years of classes challenging and many times I found myself outside my comfort zone. My personal motto became “Dream, Believe, Achieve.”  The vast number of courses offered gave me many options to open doors to an exciting career and I knew my dream job was to work for an airline. Every course gave me an insight to the bigger picture.  Our study abroad trip to Peru opened my eyes to other cultures and my passion for travelling continues to grow.

 

Three days before finishing classes I accepted a position of Customer Service Agent with Jazz Aviation LP/Air Canada Express.  This position allows me to meet many people and I have been able to use the skills and knowledge I learned while attending classes.

 

I truly could not have made it through the two years without the awesome support and guidance from all my teachers but most of all from Giannina Veltri, Program Coordinator, and Matthew Villella, Teacher.  My wonderful loving family were by my side the two years making sure I didn’t give up and in the end celebrated with me all the good times. My biggest cheerleader was my oldest grandson, Brayden.  All these amazing people in my life believed in me even when I second guessed myself.

 

I graduated June 2016 with Honours and received the Academic Award of Excellence for achieving the highest academic standing in the Tourism Travel and Eco-Adventure Program.  And also I was presented with the President’s Award of Excellence for achieving the highest academic standing in the School of Business, Hospitality and Media Arts.

 

Don’t be afraid to Dream too big!! Nothing is impossible if you Believe in yourself!! You can Achieve it!!

 

 

 
Laurie Kivi
Customer Service Agent
Thunder Bay (YQT)
laurie.kivi@flyjazz.ca

Sarah Dohan - Flight Centre

Hey Guys!

I just wanted to email you and update you on my life adventures as an International Travel Consultant for the Flight Centre.

First I want to say I cannot begin to explain or express how valuable everything you taught me is, even though at the time of learning I had NO IDEA I would end up in this line of work but I am soooooo happy I did.  The company I work for is awesome!  Anyone who says having a job as a travel agent is dumb, or that there is no future because of the Internet has no idea what they are talking about.  As a company we have over 2000 shops worldwide with over 12,000 employees and we continue to grow.  Working in the industry I can now stress the importance of booking with an agent for many reasons which I am sure you are aware of!

Let me tell you how awesome my company is!  We do work on salary and receive a percentage of our commission and there is never a cap on what we can earn.  I like this because if for whatever reason you have had a bad month you always have the salary to fall back on or support you.  Within my company there is always room for growth as well.  Some of the biggest and highest ranked employees started at the retail level with no post secondary education and have worked their way up through the ranks through tough work and determination which is really exciting.  They are a company that supports and promotes their employees and you feel that everyday through incentives and awards that are constantly being given out.  For example, I did a transfer in my second month of $9000 in commission and I have never felt better recognized or appreciated in my life.  We are a company full of young like minded people also, so making friends is like easier than pie!

On to the perks!  I live on Vancouver Island and for training every Monday for 3 weeks, they would fly me to Vancouver on a float plane from our harbour to downtown Vancouver and put me up for the week in a hotel like the Hyatt or Marriott Residence, and then fly me home for weekends.  After about a month of working, we had our year end party which took place in Vancouver.  Once again I was flown to Vancouver and back free of charge where I was able to party with all 1000 employees from our Western division.  It was awesome!  Open bar! Ha, Ha!  We have staff socials every month where awards are given out and where we eat and party together.  They are great at creating a welcoming environment and making sure you feel appreciated.  Another awesome perk is staff conferences.  I just returned from a 3-day conference at Sandals in Ocho Rios..completely covered!  3 days of intense learning and fun with 300 other consultants.  They basically shut down the resort for us and they made sure that we had fun as well as working hard.  Finally, there is Global Ball, where Flight Centre honors their best employees every year by brining them to a very special location for a very special award ceremony.  This year it is in Macau!  I am on track to go so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Anyways I just wanted to update you with what I'm doing and feel free to tell the new students my story because it is awesome!  When I come back to visit family in Thunder Bay I will drop in.  Thanks again for everything you guys did and taught me..once again I cannot express the value of it!  (I still hate GDS/APOLLO).  You guys rock!  I hope everything is going well there and I hope to speak to you soon!  Also...I know of an AWESOME agent if you every need one!  (hint, hint)

Much love!
Sarah

Our final journey together!

 Rod Coates (now retired) was part of the Tourism and Travel Program for the past 24 years.  Working for Rod in Fort Frances at International Travel Service many years ago, gave us a total of 35 years working together.

He was the outdoorsman in the program but continues to participate on our Adventure Expeditions canoe trips.  The photo you see below was taken at the ACE on the DC9 that was donated by Air Canada.

 Good luck with your retirement!

Giannina

Kelsey Dillon (2016 Travel, Tourism and Eco-Adventure Graduate)

 

Ever since high school, I’ve had “Volunteer South Africa” bookmarked on my computer. I never had the plan to take the Travel and Tourism program while I was in high school, but a bit later in my life, when I realized that was more the direction I wanted my life to revolve around, I started my search for programs. I found the Tourism, Travel and Eco-Adventure program at Confederation College, and absolutely fell in love with all my classes, and my desire to travel was stronger than ever. In our first year, we completed a South African Specialist Certificate. This sparked my interest in Volunteering once again, and I thought that maybe my dream since I was 17 might become a reality sooner than I anticipated.

 

            In September, I started doing more and more research about different programs to make this a possibility. I came across a program called International Volunteer Head Quarters, or IVHQ. I researched some of the different volunteer programs we could participate in. They had Teaching, Childcare, Surf Outreach, Sports Development and Computer Training. Having a love of children, I immediately applied for the Childcare program for 3 weeks after my completions of school. Within a day, I received my acceptance and I booked my flight the same day I was so excited! I then decided to tell my family and they were overjoyed, but also a bit nervous about me travelling across the globe by myself.

 

            The end of school came faster than I had ever expected, and after an amazing year of school, I had a life changing trip ahead of me. I also had about 40 hours of travel ahead of me, which was a bit less appealing. After 3 flights, and 15 hours of layovers, I had made it to Cape Town, South Africa! My housing and accommodations were based in Muizenberg, one of the most famous surf towns in the world. Muizenberg is most known for the colourful shacks along the beach!

            Because I was pretty jetlagged from the travel, I slept most of the first day. Monday was a holiday in Cape Town, so we had a day off from program. About 30 of the other volunteers decided to take a train to Simon’s Town to see the penguins at Boulder’s Beach. This being my first adventure in South Africa, I was pretty excited! Sadly, the penguins that day weren’t the best, but the scenery was amazing! You could really tell where it got the name “Boulder’s Beach”.

            Tuesday started our first week of Program in the township of Capricorn. Going into the Childcare program, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and I had no clue how much these children would have an impact on how I live my life. Our class was comprised of about 30 children from age 0-5. I worked with the older kids, probably from age 3-5. This age was perfect for me, because they were able to hold conversations in English, and they showed so much love towards “Teacher Kelsey”. You can tell that these children have such huge hearts, and so much love to give. At home, these children live with broken parents, violence, AIDS, drugs and alcohol. When these children are at school, they receive unconditional love, education, and the opportunity to feel safe for 9 hours. For 5 hours of their day, I was able to give that to the children. Our daily routine consisted of arriving just before breakfast, getting tackled first thing in the morning, because they were so excited to see the teachers, and feeding porridge to the babies. This is where I separated from the 2 other volunteers and went with the older children. Our days would differ, but they always consisted of an art project, a book and then outdoor play. After that, they would all come together for lunch, and then the volunteers would head home as the children went for their naps. In my 3 weeks of volunteering, I truly hope I was able to make a difference in these children’s lives, because they made the biggest difference in mine. They even taught me how to speak some Afrikaans, which was pretty cool. I will forever miss these children, and I will absolutely be back within the next few years to volunteer again.

            Because I was only there for 3 weeks, I tried to complete as many things as I could in that short period of time. Some of the adventures I went on were seeing the beautiful views of Cape Town from Table Mountain, watching an amazing sunset at Camp’s Bay, exploring the colourful houses at Bo Kaap, driving along the famous Garden Route and seeing some of the most beautiful scenes, experiencing a Game Drive with The Big Five, being able to Walk and feed elephants, going to a wildlife ranch and having lemurs crawl all over me, pet a cheetah named Sapphire, boat out to one of the most populated area of Great White Sharks and cage dive with them, and to top it all off, I bungee jumped off the world’s highest Bungee Bridge (Bloukrans Bridge). 

            If I any advice to anyone wanting to go and volunteer, and especially in South Africa, it would be DO IT! And stay longer than you think you want to. I regret only staying for 3 weeks. If you’re worried about going alone, you’re only travelling alone! You will have so many volunteers there with you, and you will make some life-long friends for sure.

            None of this trip would have become possible without taking the Travel and Tourism program at the college. It really showed me that travelling and volunteering is more accessible than you think it is!