Upon finishing her A-levels, Anna, an Austrian native, took a gap year as an Au Pair in France to improve her French and create new experiences. Currently, she is studying Cultural and Social Anthropology in Vienna. In Anna’s free time, she loves spending time with the scouts, cooking, yoga, and snowboarding. She hopes to continue traveling with plans to visit Asia and the U.S. soon! 

Jill Dobbe is an international educator and published author who writes about her experiences living and working in schools and countries around the world. 

There’s a rift between Santa and his Elves: half of his toy production team are on strike just a few days before Christmas, and the holiday gifts are in jeopardy. Noticing the troubling behavior of a six adolescents in line to see a mall Santa in Atlanta, the real Saint Nick uses his magic to summon them to his toy factory in order to help save Christmas. After failing to engineer an escape, the kids ultimately realize the importance of doing good for each other, and launch a plan to bring Santa and his Elves back together just in time.

Between 1975 and 1979, an estimated two million people (a quarter of the population at the time) were killed in Cambodia through starvation, torture, execution, disease and overwork under the ruling of the Khmer Rouge. Intellectuals were targeted, and as a result, Cambodia lost most of their educated population. 

Marie is passionate about travel and languages. She is studying Translation, Interpretation, and Intercultural Management in Paris. She speaks French, Spanish, and English fluently and is currently learning Italian and Breton. Marie’s goal is to speak as many languages as possible, mostly learning them by travelling around the world. 

Steve Moraco believes students should get to travel the world instead of sitting in lecture halls and going into debt. He founded the Abroad Academy to support, encourage, and inform students who want to travel. It works by equipping students with the skills, mindset, and resources they need to receive scholarships, garner social support, and practice persistence as they work toward their goals.

Amanda is a Master's student from Chicago, studying English as a Foreign Language in France. She began learning French at the age of 13, and fell in love with the language and the culture. Amanda studied in France twice during her undergraduate studies. While she doesn’t have a specific career path in mind, she does know that she wants to work in multiple languages and with people from around the world. 

Ever since I was little, I knew that I wanted a job that would help people… I just didn’t know what. Up until six months ago, I was a regular high school student. I was on track for going to college, and then working a 9-5 desk job that would probably not help anyone. But then my family started full time traveling, and I discovered a world full of opportunities that were new to me. Through travel, I learned about jobs in ecotourism, ESL teaching, conservation, and translating.