Travel Alumni Spotlight: Imagining New Kinds of Travel Careers

Kimberly Ramsawak isn't sure what surprised her more at the start of her tourism career: that working in travel didn't default to only travel agencies, airlines, or hotels or that degrees in tourism actually existed. After earning her master's degree in tourism and hospitality management more than a decade go, Ramsawak met employers who were equally surprised, though pleased, that tourism had become a collegiate field of study when she entered the industry. She then realized her degree alone wouldn't catch employers' eyes, as entrepreneurs Marianna Jamadi and Katalina Mayorga also understood when they founded their tour company, El Camino Travel. Jamadi and Mayorga were also pioneers by becoming one of the first tour companies to give each tour group its own photographer, leaving the Kodak trip moments to an expert while travelers devoted their attention to their destinations without worrying about capturing the perfect moment. They say their education was the foundation of what