Meet Camille Gale: The graduate whose career improved thanks to covid-19!

Camille Gale’s career actually improved thanks to covid-19!

The coronavirus has been a major upheaval for us all, especially for many in the tourism industry.

However, we recently spoke to one student who has found the silver lining amidst the changes of the past year, and who has actually found that her career has benefitted from the pandemic.

Here’s our chat with Camille Gale, including her thoughts on what’s next for New Zealand tourism, and her advice for future students! (more…)

Meet Kyle Horsefield: From an unhappy job to graduating from ITC and a bright future ahead

Kyle Horsefield went from being unhappy at his work to looking forward to a bright future with help from ITC.

Kyle Horsefield was one of our students at the Botany Campus last year. Like many students, covid-19 arrived and threatened to interfere with his studies and qualifications.

However, thanks to Kyle’s strong work ethic and our wonderful tutors and flexible learning opportunities, Kyle finished the year and is now looking forward to a bright future, even including further tertiary study.

We caught up with Kyle recently to hear more about how he began his time at ITC, how he found his time with us, and what his plans are next. (more…)

Meet Susan Afoa: Former student, current tutor, and Pacifica leadership personal development scholarship recipient!

Meet Susan Afoa: Former student, current tutor, and Pacifica leadership personal development scholarship recipient!

We first introduced Susan Afoa in June last year when she was a new tutor for ITC Botany, but when we first met her, it was almost 10 years ago when she enrolled as a student!

Susan has come a long way in the past decade, and we couldn’t be more proud of her success story, or more excited for her to be part of our team so she can help new students follow in her footsteps.

We recently caught up with Susan to learn more about her experiences, her work as a tutor, and her exciting new scholarship! (more…)

Still deciding where to enrol in 2021? Ask your provider these questions!

Does your provider offer industry famils? Here are all the questions you should ask your potential college!

It’s that exciting time of year when school leavers are considering their next steps. And as fun as it can be to imagine the exciting possibilities each option brings, it can also be challenging to know which step to take.

Only you can know the answer to that, but we can suggest some questions for you to ask your potential education providers. These can help to give you information that may guide you when it’s time to make a decision about where to enrol.

So here are 9 questions to ask the providers you’re considering, and the answers you’ll get from ITC!  (more…)

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…)

From Denny’s to Disney: Meet the ITC graduate chasing her Disney dreams

ITC graduate Sharon Beardsmore exploring Alaska with her travel kiwi. Sharon is now living and working at Disney World.

Just a few months ago, Sharon Beardsmore was working as a waitress at Denny’s while she saved for the trip of a lifetime.

Now, Sharon is living and working at Disney World in Orlando, Florida – a childhood dream come true.

We caught up with Sharon just before she left to Disney to learn about her studies at ITC, her passion for travel, and what the future has in store.

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ITC sees off Disney students with special morning tea

Disney World here they come! These excited ITC students will start their Disney Cultural Exchange Program next month. ITC put on a special morning tea today to celebrate their upcoming trip.

Last month, ITC received the exciting news that 14 talented graduates have been accepted to participate in the Disney Cultural Exchange Program.

The graduates are heading to Disney World in August to live and work at the amazing Disney Resort, where they’ll gain valuable work experience and meet other exchange participants from around the world.

Today, the College put on a special Disney Morning Tea to celebrate.

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How to achieve your dreams – according to ITC graduate Charlotte Roberts-Swain

An inspiration to her peers, ITC graduate Charlotte Roberts-Swain loves travelling and working in tourism.

Charlotte Roberts-Swain knows a thing or two about turning dreams into reality. Since graduating from ITC in December 2014, she’s worked on superyachts and at Disney World – and this is just the beginning of her exciting tourism career.

She’s currently travelling in Indonesia, but she generously took some time to write to us about her experience so far. Below she shares some advice for people looking to follow in her footsteps.

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Introducing Aruna Crichton and Susanne Snow

The lovely Aruna (on her birthday) and Susanne, our two fantastic student services advisors based at the ITC City Campus.

Aruna and Susanne recently joined the ITC City Campus team as Student Services Advisors. They are the lovely smiling faces you’ll see at the reception desk or the bright voices you’ll hear on the phone. Both ITC graduates, they are perfectly placed to help current students. Learn more about their experience and travel dreams below.

Aruna

I have always been interested in travel and tourism and wanted to work in this exciting industry. I completed a short course with ITC while in high school and enjoyed it so much I decided to enrol in 2012!

I chose to study at ITC because it’s a friendly environment and I felt so welcome from the day I first stepped into the building. I enrolled on both the Level 3 and Level 4 courses and graduated from both. This was a really good experience for me as I got to learn new things about the industry and see places I’ve never been to. I enjoyed going on work experience with SkyJump as I got to see what it’s like to work as one of the frontline staff dealing with a lot of international tourists. I also had the opportunity to experience one of New Zealand’s major tourist destinations – Rotorua. This was a huge highlight for me.

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ITC graduate gets her ‘Disney Ears’

Taryn Brown, a former ITC student, recently graduated from the Disney World Cultural Exchange Program.

Exactly 8 months ago to the day, ITC graduate Taryn Brown received the good news that she was off to Disney World for the work experience trip of a lifetime.

Participating in the Disney Cultural Exchange Program has been a goal of Taryn’s since she started studying tourism at ITC. After much hard work and determination, in August she found herself on a plane to Orlando – her dream was coming true.

Now, many new friends and amazing memories later, Taryn has graduated from the program and received her ‘Disney Ears’.

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