Meet graduate Laura Orsbourn: From ITC to Disney to New Zealand lockdown

Laura Orsbourn studied at ITC with a dream of working at Disney, but not long after she landed her dream job, covid-19 threw her plans into disarray.

“ITC is like a real family. When you move away from home (or graduate from ITC), it doesn’t mean you are not able to ever come back. In fact, students come back years after they graduate to say hi, get further career support and guidance and even re-employment. That’s our promise to our graduates,” Mel Jenkins, Marketing Manager at ITC.

ITC is as much a college for those wishing to enter the travel, tourism, and aviation industries, as it is a supportive family. As Mel speaks about in her quote above, graduation from ITC doesn’t mean the support, advice, and communication stops.

In fact, we recently caught up with graduate Laura Orsbourn, who studied at ITC in order to apply for the Disney College program in the US. Her hard work and skills landed her the job, but it wasn’t long before covid derailed her role and saw her packing her bags for New Zealand.

We chatted to Laura about how she got started, what it was like heading home, and her time at ITC. (more…)

Did you know you can study at ITC for FREE?

The Fees Free initiative allows many students to study at ITC for free.

At the start of 2018, New Zealand began an initiative that allows citizens and residents to study for one year for FREE. Yet there are still plenty of students who don’t know that their first year of study can be covered by the government!

Here’s a little more about the Fees Free initiative, who’s eligible, what you can study at ITC without paying a cent, and how to apply. (more…)

Short courses for high school students: Will you go on an epic adventure or pick up extra NCEA credits this summer?

Students can enjoy a thrilling zipline adventure during ITC’s two-day Ultimate Intrepid Journey course.

The weather is getting warmer already and there’s no doubt summer is on its way, although it may look a little different to what many students had in mind this year. With international travel off the cards, some won’t be heading away for holidays, while others won’t be heading home as planned.

With that in mind, Education New Zealand has launched a country-wide initiative to help support high school students this summer. The Great Kiwi Virtual Summer Fair is taking place this weekend on October 31 to offer inspiration and advice about enjoying the country the Kiwi way these holidays, whereas NauMai NZ is available to help students work through their options about staying or leaving the country.

Here at ITC, we’re offering two incredible short summer courses; the first to entertain and inspire, and the second to help students gain extra NCEA units. (more…)

ITC supports unique, life-changing project

Manurewa High School Deputy Principal Phil Muir with some local children from Cambodia

For several years, ITC has been sponsoring Manurewa High School’s Humanitarian Aid Leadership Programme (HALP) to Cambodia.

This year around 20 students embarked on a journey that saw them that return as “empowered, passionate, worldly young adults who have a greater desire to achieve and then give back to their community,” says Deputy Principal Phil Muir.

The students spent 12 days engaged in a range of projects and activities “that opened their eyes to the history and culture of a country that has been shattered by civil war, famine, genocide and poverty,” says Mr Muir.

The group worked with a number of aid projects including the World Vision Area Development Programme at Chi Kreng, and a NZAid funded agricultural programme that helps communities turn from subsistence farmers into productive croppers on land that was until recently covered with landmines.

Students also gave blood and donated to the Kantha Bopha children’s hospital in Siem Reap and the children’s hospital in Phnom Penh.

At Kantha Bopha, students heard from Nobel Peace laureate Dr Beat Richner. Student Kate Montgomery says, “Hearing about Dr. Beat Richner’s project of building and maintaining the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals was inspiring. It’s amazing how much one person’s vision can impact millions of people’s lives. This helped me to realise that I have the power to help people too.”

“The HALP programme also has a long term relationship with the Centre for Children’s Happiness – an orphanage which rescues children from the dumps of Phnom Penh,” says Mr Muir “and the students spent a full day playing, muralling, teaching and interacting, as well as giving a large range of donated gifts.”

The group also spent a day with 20 students sponsored by the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study as postgraduate students in New Zealand in areas such as development studies and tourism development. “The idea is that they will return to Cambodia and help to build a more successful country,” says Mr Muir. “We made some excellent links with this group, and look forward to developing these contacts – particularly when the students come to New Zealand next year.”

The students also visited the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. This visit had a real impact on the students, including Kate Montgomery, who says, “Throughout the entire time we visited the prison I felt numb and weak. None of what I saw looked real to me. It was so far removed from what I consider to be reality that I just couldn’t make sense of it.”

Kate says that the trip was genuinely life changing for her: “I saw, did, and experienced things that I hadn’t before. It really showed me the importance of so many things that we take for granted in this world. Things such as transport, roads, clean water, bathrooms, money, blood, education, and above all, people.”

“It truly did change my life and me as a person. I am not who I was before, and I am still not who I will be. But I can say that I am different. And I plan to use my experience to impact on others’ lives, and to make a difference in this world.”

Mr Muir says that the trip would have been beyond the reach of many of the students without ITC’s help: “The 2013 HALP team truly wishes to thank International Travel College for their generous contribution and support – your belief in our unique, life-changing project is very highly valued.  We travelled as fabulous ambassadors for our community and country and your support helped to make this project a reality.”

ITC’s Top 10 tips on how NOT get an interview

ITC are happy to help all their students ensure their CV is the best!

ITC’s Marketing Director Claire shares her top tips for improving your interview game. (more…)

ITC Finalist in Two Westpac Business Awards

ITC has finalist and winners in 16 awards in the past 18 years!

The International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) has been selected as a finalist in this year’s Westpac Auckland Business Awards 2014 – South. The college is a finalist in two categories: Excellence in Customer Service Delivery and Excellence in Strategy and Planning. (more…)

Another ITC Event a Winner

ITC Students, who wrote the blog and had fun at the ITC Bowling event

A Russian, an Englishman, a Singaporean and a Filipino walk into a bowling hall…  it’s another ITC bowling day out!

Dan Sayer, the Englishman of the team mentioned above, says that the idea of these events “is to get the whole of International Travel College out as one, and it works.” (more…)

Introducing Kyleigh Mooney

Kyleigh Mooney, new ITC Recruiment Advisor. She joins ITC with a wealth of experience in the airline industry.

Kyleigh is our new Botany Campus Recruitment Advisor. She joins ITC with a vast experience of airline knowledge and flight attending experience tells us about her exciting career in travel and what she is looking forward to at ITC. (more…)

Disney 2014 – new friends, a second family and the experience of a lifetime

Cara ITC Graduate now working at Disney, (in the red top) in Orlando. What an experience.

ITC Graduate Cara Adams tells us about her experience at Disney.

How do I even start to talk about this journey, it has been such a rollercoaster ride? I am so happy that I chose to do this; I have grown while being here and have met friends that I will keep forever. There have, of course, been ups and downs in the six months I have been here so far, but all of them have been an important part of this amazing experience. (more…)

ITC’s Botany Students Take to the Lanes

ITC Students from the Botany campus bowling us over with their outfits!

To study travel and tourism you have to have a fun and adventurous side and our students never fail to show this off at our college events.

Last week ITC’s Botany students went 10-pin bowling at Xtreme Botany. Each team came up with a name and a theme, and in true ITC style, got dressed up to the nines. Prizes were given for a variety of achievements – some of which even involved bowling! (more…)