Introducing Celeste Cakau

A warm welcome to Celeste Cakau – a new tutor at ITC’s City Campus.

Live. Laugh. Love. As cliché as it is, these three words are what sparked my interest in the airline, travel and tourism industry.

I started my working life as a teller/banking consultant, dealing with customers. I enjoyed playing with everyone else’s money, however this was not where my heart lay! LOVE. They say if you love what you do then it won’t feel like work, so… I decided to make a change.

In 2009, I completed a Tourism and Aviation Certificate with the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute and started working with Menzies as a Passenger Service Agent. In 2010, I became a flight attendant with Jetstar, flying Domestic and Trans-Tasman routes. I also worked part time in the office helping with rosters and banking (couldn’t stay away from the money!).

In 2012, I became a Cabin Crew Trainer, training new recruits and assessing current crew in emergency and standard operating procedures. This is where you could say the LIVE part came in as I was mainly based in Melbourne but also trained out of Brisbane. I was literally living out of a suitcase and couldn’t tell you what day of the week it was.

In the same year, I also helped to set up the Jetstar Auckland Base Training at the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute (coincidentally where I did my travel and tourism course). Glad to be back in NZ and wanting to continue teaching to help students prepare for the travel and tourism industry, I became a training facilitator with the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute. I have a passion for teaching and like to make learning fun by having a lot of laughs.

I was lucky enough in 2013 to tick my dream destination off my bucket list….. EGYPT – my first ever tour with Top Deck Tours. It was amazing!!

My advice to you is work hard so that you can play hard. The Travel and Tourism Industry is by far the most challenging & exciting industry to work in where no two days are the same.

– Celeste

5 quick questions with ITC tutor Amy McPhail

ITC tutor Amy McPhail used to be a flight attendant for Virgin Australia – it’s no surprise that flight attending is her favourite subject to teach!

Amy McPhail is a tutor at The International Travel College of New Zealand’s City Campus. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom. We asked her five quick questions about her passion for aviation, travel and tourism.

1. What sparked your interest in travel and tourism?

When I left high school I had no idea what I wanted to do for a job, let alone a career. One day I was at home flicking through a newspaper and I came across an advertisement for a travel course. As soon as I saw the picture of the Flight Attendant, I knew that was what I wanted to do. A week later I was enrolled and starting my journey towards a fabulous career in travel and tourism. Completing my Certificate in Travel and Tourism gave me a great foundation to launch my career and introduced me to the wide variety of work available in this exciting industry. I have since worked in a variety of roles in the tourism industry, including working for Hilton Hotels, as a flight attendant for Virgin Australia, for a travel wholesaler and as a travel agent.

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Introducing Lara Penfold

Introducing Lara Penfold, ITC’s new Academic Services Co-ordinator

Originally from England, Lara Penfold recently joined the friendly ITC team as our new Academic Services Co-ordinator. She tells us a little bit about herself, why she moved to New Zealand, and what she hopes to bring to this role. 

I moved to New Zealand with my family in May 2015 from England after many years of wanting to experience living in another country. We looked at a few options, but the more we researched about New Zealand, the more interested we became in the country, the variety of cultures and the working opportunities available.

As a child I grew up in a guest house, owned by my Mum and Dad. It was always very busy with different guests coming and going, I remember helping out with serving breakfasts and dinners, checking people in, cooking and preparing for functions, cleaning rooms and helping guests with directions and information about the local area.

Having travelled to a variety of places throughout England and Wales, I have also travelled quite substantially internationally too, visiting places such as Thailand, Australia, New York, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, Egypt and now of course New Zealand. In each place I have had unique experiences and hold wonderful memories.

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5 quick questions with ITC Head Tutor Tessa Henwood

Tessa Henwood with ITC Managing Director Kerry Priestley at the 2015 Graduation Ceremony.

Tessa is the Head Tutor at ITC’s City Campus. She has had an amazing career in travel and tourism and brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom.  We asked her five quick questions to give you an insight into her role at ITC.

1. What sparked your interest in travel and tourism?

I am from the UK and what really sparked my interest in the tourism industry as a career was moving to New Zealand and spending almost 2 years travelling and working around the country. I met some amazing people, and saw how many opportunities are out there to really have fun while you work.

The best thing about working in travel and tourism is getting to meet people from all over the world and learn about their cultures, it helps give you ideas of places to travel to and also broadens your mind to see the world in a more open way.

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Introducing Sharon Roy

Sharon Roy is the new friendly face at the ITC Reception Desk

Sharon Roy studied at ITC and is now working at the college as our new Student Services Adviser. Below she tells us a little bit about herself. 

Noa’ia e mauri, as you know I’m Sharon Roy your Student Services Adviser. I attended Epsom Girls High School where some of my favourite subjects were Geography and Travel and Tourism. (more…)

Introducing Ronika Lal

ITC’s new Academic Services Assistant Ronika Lal loves travelling and meeting new people. Here she is pictured in Glenorchy, Queenstown

Ronika is our new Academic Services Assistant. She joins ITC from a customer service and administration background. Below she tells us why she decided to pursue a career in travel and tourism.

I studied a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Auckland initially majoring in Accounting. However, in my second year I realised it just wasn’t for me. So I had a big think and ended up majoring in International Business and Management. It just was not worth committing money, time and effort into something I didn’t love. (more…)

Introducing Takeyuki Morita

Takeyuki Morita is a Travel Management Tutor at ITC’s Botany Campus. Takeyuki tells us why he decided to move to New Zealand from his hometown of Okinawa, Japan. (more…)

Mel’s trip of a lifetime part 2: How HALP 2014 changed me

Sometimes the best things happen outside your comfort zone. ITC’s Mel jumps off a tree branch into a fresh water waterfall in Laos!

In her last blog, Mel wrote about the preparations leading up to her humanitarian trip to Thailand and Laos. Today, read all about how this special journey changed her life for the better.

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Introducing Jess O’Connor

Jess recently joined the ITC Marketing Team

Jess is our new Marketing Executive. You can find her at the City Campus writing all sorts of exciting marketing material or perhaps updating one of ITC’s social media accounts. She tells us how a recent holiday in Ireland inspired her to come back to New Zealand to pursue a career in travel and tourism.

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Mel joins Manurewa High School on trip of a lifetime

ITC Short Course Team Leader Mel (4th from the right with short sleeves and hairband) and students from Manurewa High School at Auckland International Airport

ITC’s very own Short Course Team Leader Mel Verwijmeren is currently on a trip of a lifetime in Southeast Asia. Mel joined Manurewa High School’s fourth HALP (Humanitarian Aid Leadership Programme) expedition to Thailand and Laos, of which ITC is a proud sponsor.

The trip is an amazing opportunity for students to see first-hand what life is like for people in this part of the world. For many students, it is their first time out of New Zealand, making it a significant life-changing experience.

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