Meet your Study From Home team

Posted on 24/08/2021 by Mel Jenkins

When you earn your travel and tourism qualifications with Study From Home, you’ll spend your time in front of your laptop at home.

However, you’ll still enjoy the support and guidance of our Study From Home tutors, just like you would if you were studying in person. This close-knit team works hard to support our students as they move through their coursework, and will be there for advice, help, and motivation every step of the way.

Interested in learning more about your Study From Home tutors and team? Here’s a brief introduction!

Toni Young

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.

Joy Carter

Before becoming a Study From Home tutor, Joy spent almost 10 years teaching at the ITC Botany campus, so she has extensive experience with travel, tourism, and aviation courses. Prior to her work with ITC, she spent more than 10 years selling travel holidays.

Her days are always busy; doing roleplays with students, marking student coursework, responding to queries, and checking in on student progress. She helps to update and improve resources as well, but no matter how busy she is, “we are never too busy to have a chat with our students,” she says.

She knows that some students may need a hand with technical issues, and loves to help explain tricky terminology or clarify certain questions whenever students get stuck. But her favourite part of the job is getting to know the students, sharing their journeys, and celebrating their successes.

She says that for students considering studying online with SFH, the trick is to have plenty of support.

“Let family members and friends know that you are studying and the hours you have committed to. They probably don’t realise, and you may need them to help out if you encounter challenges along the way, such as a change of routine or sickness,” she said.

Joy’s no stranger to travel herself. She has been to many places over the years, but on one particularly memorable trip to Papua New Guinea, she and her husband and young daughter experienced a real culture shock. They were advised to lock themselves in at night, and on New Year’s Eve, the police came through their backyard chasing a “rascally”!

Lynelle Panton

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.

Andrew Houston

Andrew began as a tutor for the Botany Campus five years ago, but he has since worked as the Tutorial Team Leader, and is now the Botany Campus Manager and Study From Home Manager. His work with Study From Home is backed by a long career in tourism and travel, where he worked in aviation security, and for Air New Zealand and Flight Centre.

His role is incredibly diverse. He supports the tutorial, recruitment, and student services teams for the Botany Campus, and the entire Study From Home Team. He even still teaches some diploma subjects and plays an important role in developing new course materials and resources.

Recently, he has been heavily involved with creating new interactive activities, video lessons, and enhanced subject guides for Study From Home students. Andrew, and the entire team, consistently work to make improvements for a better learning experience for everyone.

“I also empower the team to look for creative solutions to assist students who are facing personal challenges whilst studying,” he adds.

His favourite part of the job is seeing students start working in the world’s most exciting industry, and his advice for anyone considering study is to check out the Study From Home Free Trial, which gives you an idea of the style of learning you can expect as a student.

When he’s not busy with ITC and Study From Home work, Andrew is working on his fitness as he gets ready to run the Queenstown Marathon in November.

Ready to meet the team for real? Get in touch with us to hear more about our distance learning options, to enrol, and to meet your new Study From Home tutors!

Study From Home – college@itc.co.nz 0800 TOURISM (0800 868747) or https://www.studyfromhome.co.nz/contact-us/

 

 

Posted in News | Tagged Airline training, Aviation Training, Distance Learning, Flexible study, home office, ITC Award winning training, Meet the team, online learning, online support, Passion for travel, study from home, tourism education, travel | Leave a reply

You’ve studied from home – now how about working from home, too?

Posted on 17/08/2021 by Mel Jenkins

Distance learning is a wonderful way to earn a valuable qualification, and we’re proud to offer level 3, 4, and 5 courses in the travel and tourism industry that anyone in New Zealand can complete online.

For those who have earned their certificates through Study From Home, they already know the multitude of benefits of working from the comfort of your own house (only one of which is being able to work in your pajamas if you want to).

So if you’ve studied from home and realised how much you love (or simply need) the freedom of working from home as well, here’s a little more on what’s available, and what it’s like to work from home.

Remote work positions in the travel and tourism industry

Remote work is highly sought after and there are not always a lot of positions available, but they do exist, and those with qualifications are better placed to apply than those without.

For example, you may be able to find one of these work from home positions:

• Travel agent
• Customer support for a travel, tourism, or aviation business
• Guest experience manager
• Customer service agent
• Reservations agent
• Travel writer/editor

Finding remote work is often a case of keeping an eye on available positions, and making the most of resources available to you such as ITC’s dedicated employment consultants, who work to help ITC and Study From Home graduates find roles in the industry.

In some cases, you may need to gain experience in an in-person job before moving into a remote position.

What is it actually like to work from home?

Studying from home is a good introduction to working from home, but not necessarily the same.

Working from home has countless upsides. Not only do you not have to get dressed up for work, you don’t even have to spend money on work outfits.

There is no commute, meaning that you both get a little bit more time in the morning and evening, and you don’t have to deal with the stress of traffic, or the cost of transport and parking.

There are no distracting coworkers, typically less office politics, and it’s much easier to whip up lunch when you have an entire kitchen at your disposal. You can also keep an eye on kids home from school while continuing your work day, without having to take time off.

That said, there are a few things you will need to be prepared for if you’re planning on working from home:

• Distractions such as kids, pets, housework, and even hobbies
• Separating work-life from home-life
• Working without colleagues around you (although this can be a bonus for introverts!)

Working from home is extremely popular for a reason, so once you’ve adjusted to these common challenges, you’ll be ready for a career that’s as comfortable and convenient as your studies were!

Do you love the idea of distance learning, and perhaps of working from home for your job as well? Get in touch with us at Study From Home to learn more about our courses and the careers they can lead to.

Study From Home – college@itc.co.nz 0800 TOURISM (0800 868747) or https://www.studyfromhome.co.nz/contact-us/

 

Posted in Inspiration and motivation, News, Study From Home Tips | Tagged adventure, airline, aviation, Employment, Flexible study, home, home office, kids, online learning, study from home, study online, study space, travel, travel work, Work From Home | Leave a reply

Five minutes with Study From Home student Rebekah Linton

Posted on 11/06/2015 by Jess O'Connor

What is it like to Study From Home? We caught up with current student Rebekah Linton to find out how her distance learning experience is going.

What sparked your interest in travel and tourism?

Travelling has always been something I have loved to do, as I like visiting new places and learning about new cultures. I’m also a real foodie and love to try out local dishes of the places I visit.

Ever since I was young I was lucky enough to be able to do a fair bit of travelling with my family. I would often go on trips around NZ with my grandparents during the school holidays, and I would usually go on some sort of overseas destination with my parents once a year such as Australia or Vanuatu. I’ve also done Camp America for two years – I spent 3 months at a time working in a summer camp in Maine and Connecticut.

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Posted in Student Success, Study From Home Tips | Tagged study from home, study tips, travel, travel agent |

Travel Q&A with Study From Home Manager Carla Sutton

Posted on 15/04/2015 by Jess O'Connor

Carla Sutton is the Manager of ITC’s Study From Home programme. Originally from the Netherlands, she has travelled extensively and has a passion for learning about different cultures. Here she shares her fondest travel memories.

What sparked your interest in travel and tourism?

When I was 13 years old, I went with my parents to book our trip to the USA. That’s when I realised I wanted to be a travel agent. I picked all the relevant subjects at school (geography, languages, economics), finished high school, and enrolled at one of only two private travel & tourism institutes in the Netherlands. It was difficult to get in, there was lots of competition!

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Posted in News | Tagged Staff news, Tourism training, travel, travel careers | Leave a reply

Travel Q&A with ITC Tutor Richard Euston

Posted on 01/04/2015 by Jess O'Connor

Richard Euston joined the International Travel College of New Zealand’s Study From Home team in January 2015. We asked him a few questions about his travel experiences so far.

What is your fondest travel memory?

There’s a lot to choose from but I would have to say our honeymoon. We stayed at the legendary Raffles Hotel in Singapore and also spent time in Bali in an amazing villa with it’s own pool.

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Posted in News | Tagged Q&A, Staff news, travel | Leave a reply

Study From Home appears on Good Morning

Posted on 12/02/2015 by Jess O'Connor

ITC Short Course Tutor Melissa Fey recently appeared on Good Morning to talk about the college’s exciting Study From Home programme.

Melissa appeared on camera alongside her six-year-old daughter Aria and answered questions about studying in the airline, travel and tourism industries.

In case you missed the show, here are some highlights.

So Melissa, tell us about the International Travel College. What qualifications do you provide?

ITC is an award-winning college that provides qualifications for people wanting to enter the airline, travel or tourism industries. We have a strong relationship with these industries and this helps us find great jobs for students after they finish studying.

So you actually help your students find work? What kind of jobs can they get after studying with the International Travel College?

Our graduates work as tour guides, travel agents, flight attendants, airport check-in agents, customs agents, bungy jump operators… the list goes on! Tourism is one of New Zealand’s largest industries and employs one in 10 people. We actually have employers asking us for applications for existing roles.

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Posted in News | Tagged airline, aviation, education, Good Morning, New Zealand, television, tourism, travel | Leave a reply