Around the World and Back Again: One Alumnus’ Story Comes Full Circle

I was born and raised in South Florida as a first generation American. My parents had emigrated from Haiti so I learned Creole at home while I learned English in school. My older brothers went into the military, and my younger sister became a mother out of high school. My path was completely different.

When I joined the academy back in the 90s, it was referred to as an “enhancement program.” Back then, it was called the Academy of Travel and Tourism and I was told I would learn about travel. I was a sophomore at the time and I wanted to be an obstetrician because I wanted to help people. Through the academy, I learned that I was really a people person.

Through my academy, I landed an internship at Miami International Airport working in the public affairs division. I was an assistant tour guide for summer youth groups, helped plan activities for employees, and was also involved in media relations. The internship was a huge backbone to comprehending work/life. Getting paid. It made sense.

My internship opened opportunities to a new industry for me. I loved airports, airplanes, and people. This is what spurred my interest in studying airport aviation management. With help from local scholarships, I attended college at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island where I majored in travel and tourism management with a concentration in psychology. Each summer when I came home, I returned to Miami International Airport to intern.

My college experience included an 11-week practicum which concluded with an assignment I had to plan and travel on a 10-day trip to Australia – this was before the internet was what it is today. This solidified my interest in the business.

My interest in the aviation aspect of the industry still remained, and after college I went on to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. With just 18 credits shy of my MBA, I found out my loan didn’t go through. I was forced to drop out of the program.

I went back home to Miami where I attended a Career Day at Johnson and Wales. This is where I came across Carnival Cruise Line. They had an opening for a reservation agent. While this wasn’t what I was looking to do, it was a start, and 7 months into the job I was told I had an interview for an inside sales position. Little did I know the interview was just a formality – I already had the job. In this role, I gave tours of ships and worked with outside sales representatives. It was very similar to my work with the airport. From there, I was promoted again to Care Team Services, which is the crisis management department at Carnival, helping to provide emotional support and train staff from all around the world on how to assist people during a crisis. 16 years later, I am still with Carnival and this fall, I’ll be returning to Australia to train Carnival staff. Full circle! NAF gave me the tools I needed to build lasting professional relationships, recognize opportunities, and to be resilient – all incredibly important to ensuring we’re future ready.