It was 1990. My hair was big. I had windsuits in multiple colors. My jeans were high-waisted and stonewashed, and I wore an original fanny pack around my waist. I had just graduated from college and had begun a new life in Austin, Texas, far from my native Ohio.

I was a new teacher that year, having just landed my first job in a middle school. It wasn’t my dream job—that would have been teaching high school English and sharing my passion for reading and writing with the youth of America. This job was teaching Texas History to 7th graders - did I mention I was a recent transplant?!? All I knew about Texas history was the story of the Alamo, as one of my first forays into Texas culture was a trip south to San Antonio and its Riverwalk. This job would be a challenge, but I was there for it.

Being the eager young teacher that I was, when the question of who wanted to “help” with the 8th-grade trip to Washington DC came up at a staff meeting, I was the first to raise my hand. You experienced teachers are currently shaking your head at my rookie mistake. Newer teachers, If you haven’t yet learned the lesson, “help” usually means,” It’s all yours!” Yep, the next thing I knew, I was running the show. I knew NOTHING about student travel. But isn’t that what teachers do best - Punt! Learn! Wing it! Get the job done!

I took my first group in the spring of 1991, and it was a blast. I was hooked!  For the rest of my teaching days in Texas, that was MY trip, and I wasn’t about to let it go.

Life happens. I got married, had kids (four kids in six years, yikes!), and moved to the great white north of Minnesota. I was blessed to be able to stay home and take care of my kids for ten years.

When my oldest child was getting close to middle school, I knew that I wanted her to have the chance to go to DC with her classmates. Because of 9/11, none of the schools in the area had been taking the trip. I met with the principal of her school and started the process of getting the trip going. Before too long, the trip was approved. I didn’t go that first year, but it wouldn’t be long until I was back in the saddle.

When my youngest started first grade, my daughter was in 8th grade. Their school hired me, and soon, I had wrested the trip away from the current group leader (actually, I was begged to take it), and I was off again! I have been privileged to have taken all four of my kids to DC along with their classmates, as well as many of my nieces and nephews. These are trips you won’t ever forget! Each of them, all 20+ trips, is special in their own way.

At one point, I had become unhappy with the tour company I had been using when a promotion from another company came across my desk. I called, and lo and behold, I discovered I was speaking to an old friend with whom I had worked years before. She had landed at a new company (School Tours of America) and wanted to know if I wanted to hear about it. I said no, if you love it there, I am in!  The rest is history, but that is not the end of the story.

STA takes good care of its group leaders, and at one of their lovely happy hour events, I got into a conversation with Frank Harvey, the owner of STA. He was telling me the history of his company when I heard a familiar name. His first travel company, American Student Travel, was the company with which I, as a green and inexperienced traveler, took my first trip! What are the chances?!? We chatted a bit more, then moved on to other conversations. Within about 20 minutes, he returned to me with his phone - my former tour coordinator was on the line! I was immediately transported back in time to the days when I would spend my whole prep period on the phone with Beth because we had so much to talk about - most of it not even about the trip we were planning!

I retired from teaching this past spring, but not from student travel. I have found my home away from home, back with the Harveys and their fantastic company as I begin a new journey outside the classroom. My experience as a teacher is being used to develop more teacher resources for both the classroom and their trips. I’m working to offer teachers credit for the time they take out of their own lives to give their students the experience of a lifetime. My hair is smaller, and I have traded the windsuits for joggers, but my love for teaching and travel is as strong as ever.