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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(ARA) – Now that graduation day is almost here, a lot of students are going into panic mode. Not only do they have to crack the books to get ready for finals, they have to start thinking about and preparing for life in the working world. No more partying every night, planning a schedule so you can sleep in, or taking every Friday off.
“After four years of having fun all the time, the idea of giving it all up really scared me,” says Darla Dench, 33, who graduated from Penn State with a degree in psychology in 1994. Instead of looking for work fit for her major, she decided to travel the world.
“Amsterdam really made an impression on me, so much so that when I was close to running out of money, I decided to get a job and stay longer,” she says. Dench took a position with a market research company that studied tourism. She stayed with them for four years before returning home and finding a job in Washington, D.C., in international relations.
“At first that job was fun and challenging, but I quickly became unhappy. I missed the excitement of travel and meeting new people,” she says. One night while surfing the Internet, Dench came across the Web site of a school that offered training for people who wanted to become tour guides and tour directors. In June 2002, she found herself back in the classroom.
The school she attended, the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI) founded in 1976, is the first school in America for training professional tour directors and guides. Course work focuses on the psychology of group travel, trip planning, and how to do historical and cultural research then share the information found with others. A lot of attention is also focused on basic problem solving skills.
“When you stop to think of it, it's really amazing how many things can go wrong when you're on tour,” says Dench. “From airline delays to hotel over-bookings, you have to know how to react to all kinds of situations. A lot of tour directing is just common sense. I already knew how to think on my feet, but ITMI showed me how to take my life skills and experience a step further, and gave me the confidence to react successfully in all kinds of situations.”
“Each of our students goes through an intensive two-week training course before becoming a certified tour guide or tour director,” says Ted Bravos, co-founder of ITMI. About 50 percent of the training takes place in the classroom. The other half in the field -- at the airport behind the scenes with customs, aboard motorcoaches, on ships and participating in a two-day tour.
Before showing up for their first tour, students learn how to thoroughly research the location they are visiting to the point that the people on their tour will think they've been there a hundred times before, even if it's their first visit. “I've gotten pretty good at it,” says Dench. “I was very proud of myself the first time I led a tour of the Canadian Rockies. I'm confident no one in the group had any idea I'd never been there before.”
These days, her primary job is leading tours of our nation's Capital for students arriving to study the city. She takes them to such places as the White House, the Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
“Even though I've now been to these places dozens of times, I learn something new from the teachers and students on my tours every day, and have made a habit of writing them all down to share with future groups,” she says.
“To me, travel is the greatest university in the world. It teaches us about culture and diversity among people. It's a classroom without walls,” adds Bravos.
For more information about becoming a tour director or guide, log on to www.itmitourtraining.com or call the ITMI office toll free at (800) 442-4864 to talk to a tour director who can answer all your questions about the profession. Courtesy of ARA Content
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