Lake Stevens grad lands dream travel job
Published 11:07 pm Sunday, February 24, 2008
Amanda Levesque traveled through Europe to find her dream job in Edmonds.
Scoring the big job fresh from college is a once-in-a-lifetime thrill.
While attending Lake Stevens High School, she also went to Everett Community College through the Running Start program.
She graduated from both schools at the same time, with a degree in journalism.
“I loved Running Start and I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Levesque, 22, said. “Getting two years of college for free made it easier for me to go out of state for college.”
She moved to San Diego to attend San Diego State University and pursue a degree in communications.
“After my first year at SDSU I did a six-week study abroad in Costa Rica,” Levesque said. “I lived with a host family in Heredia, a town near San Jose.”
She said she loved improving her Spanish, touring the country and the exotic jungle.
She also studied while she lived in Italy.
“I had fallen in love with Italy when my mom took me there for a graduation present in 2004 and we actually began planning my study abroad while still on vacation,” Levesque said. “I lived in Viterbo, a small medieval walled city in northern Lazio.”
She visited Rome and studied Italian art history and language.
“We went all around Lazio and Tuscany, Sardinia and Sicily. There is just something about Italy that always draws me to it. I love the people, history, architecture and food.”
After five weeks carrying a backpack from hostel to hostel all over Europe, hiking in the Alps and taking a canal cruise in Amsterdam, the travel bug firmly bit Levesque.
She finished college in May back in San Diego and graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Here is the part about the dream job: She was hired as a travel adviser with Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door.
She talks to customers about their fabulous vacation plans.
“Helping plan other trips is sometimes hard because it makes me really miss Europe and want to go back,” Levesque said.
She won’t have to wait too long for another adventure. There is another marvelous part about the dream job.
“This summer I will assist on tours in Europe. I’m not sure which ones yet, but I put in requests for Turkey, the Adriatic, Eastern Europe and Best of Europe.”
Europe Through the Back Door staff who work for the company more than 12 months get to take one free tour each year.
“Her position is coveted,” said Jennifer Schutte, travel center and consulting manager. “We receive a lot of resumes everyday requesting to work at ETBD.”
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
