Staff Profiles
Claire Huxley - Chief Executive
Originally from the UK, Claire brings a wealth of international experience and expertise to ITC. She has a background in international tourism and started her career working in reservations for Europe’s largest tour operator.
Claire developed her career in marketing after spending several years in a managerial role for a retail travel company. She then worked for the UK’s largest direct marketing organisation, helping to develop cohesive marketing strategies in conjunction with the travel and tourism industry.
In 2002, Claire emigrated to New Zealand with her husband and began working at ITC. She hasn’t looked back since.
“I really love seeing the students progress from high school to ITC and then go out int the industry. It’s why we all do what we do! Life is too short to have a boring office job, so I know that our students are making the right choice,” Claire says.
Claire has travelled extensively throughout Europe, the Caribbean, New Zealand and Australia. She still has a passion for the travel and tourism industry and loves to travel (and talk about it!).
Lynelle Panton - Study From Home Tutor
Lynelle’s background is all about travel. She has worked in leisure travel, in hotels, for rental car companies, and even as a corporate travel consultant at American Express. That’s when she joined the ITC team as a campus tutor, before moving across to the Study From Home team where she is also a tutor.
As a part-timer, Lynelle juggles her work with SFH with her home life, where she’s full-on with three kids. She loves that she can spend time with her children after school and help with their activities, while still working in an industry she loves so much and knows so well.
When asked what she does to go the extra mile for her students, Lynelle explained that going the extra mile simply goes hand in hand with the travel and tourism industry, so it’s important to do that from the start. This can mean doing roleplays outside of normal hours, meeting students to help with assessments, and working with students one-on-one. She loves the work, and especially so when she sees the results and added confidence in the students.
“You can see them blossom after they have had that little bit of extra help,” she says.
For anyone considering signing up with Study From Home, she says that if it’s something you really want to do, then don’t let anything stop you. She recommends using the tutors who are there specifically to help – and they want to help.
Her favourite part of the job? Seeing students grow.
“A lot of students don’t realise how much they change from the start of the course to the end. It’s not just a knowledge thing – when you have learned something you gain confidence… and obviously I love to see them get their qualification and start working in the industry!”
And if you ever have a moment, be sure to ask Lynelle about her time working at a winery. She did the usual tasks such as wine tastings, but she would also occasionally jump in the ute with the dog in the back, then drive up and down the rows of vines banging the car door and getting the dog to bark like mad to scare away the birds.
Toni Young - Study From Home Tutor
Toni Young is the newest member of the Study From Home team, joining the crew in early 2021. Before that, she lived in Australia and the UK, and worked as a travel agent, a teacher, and for an airline and event management company.
No two days are the same for Toni. She might be working in Teams Assessment with a group of students, on a Zoom meeting with a student overseas, marking students’ work, or working on developing new course content. She sees her role as encouraging, motivating, facilitating, and counselling students.
“Their success is our success and we have lots of processes in place to help make this happen,” she explains.
Her favourite part of the job is seeing students achieve their qualifications and start their dream jobs in the industry, and her advice to students considering studying for a career in tourism and travel is to simply do it.
“There is no better time to be studying towards your travel and tourism qualifications. The industry needs qualified and motivated students and with this qualification you will be ideally placed to enter the exciting world of travel and tourism.”
When Toni isn’t helping and motivating students for Study From Home, she can often be found on the ski fields near her home town in Christchurch.
