Melissa Ardales - CSTP
Business Development
For the past 14 years, I have worked in the travel industry and been witness to some of the most incredible experiences: from presidential inaugurations and international students debating world issues to exploring natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon or manmade wonders like the Great Wall of China.
Travel is not just a profession for me, but truly my life's inspiration. For the past 14 years, I have worked in the travel industry and been witness to some of the most incredible experiences: from presidential inaugurations and international students debating world issues to exploring natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon or manmade wonders like the Great Wall of China. I have traveled to over 30 countries on 6 continents and I love to take people around the world with me, to explore and discover new things about ourselves and our world. Most of my friends do not start a conversation with me asking "how are you?", but rather "where are you?". When I do find myself at home, I love to cook, hike, craft, read and spend time with friends battling it out in serious game-night fashion. Additionally, both when I am home and when I am on the road, I enthusiastically practice aerial arts (think Cirque du Soleil). Given a little bit of free-time, you can usually find me hanging from the ceiling and perfecting a new move on aerial silks or lyra! In 2016, I earned my Masters in Tourism Management through Colorado State University's online master's program while moving across the country from Washington DC to Washington State. My favorite travel experiences include witnessing someone make a connection to the world they either had never considered or had only read about in a text book. It is for these reasons that I seek out opportunities to work with student groups from around the world and create incredible travel opportunities. In my opinion, travel is the best education and I plan to be a student for life! My goal is to take a trip to Australia by the end of 2017 in order to complete my quest to have stamps from all 7 continents on my passport within 7 years and yes, that means I have been to Antarctica! So the questions remains, where would you like me to take you? There's a lot of the world left to see, so let's go!