Day in the life of
Promotion Representative – Janelle Axton
This role was amazing, and perfect for young professionals that have just graduated college or are looking to switch career paths to work in the travel industry. Up with People is a non-profit organization with a mission of inspiring youth to take action and make positive changes in the world. A group of ~100 international youth (ages 18-29) tour three different regions of the world by staying in one city at a time with host families where they take part in community service and perform a motivational live show at the end of the week.
As a Promotion Representative, I went ahead of the cast by about 5 weeks to set up everything the cast would need in each city. My partner and I were responsible for finding host families, finding donated meals, coordinating the community service, promoting the show, coordinating the travel logistics of moving 100 people around the city, and working with the cast staff to map out all the little logistics of the week.
Pros
This is a truly incredible organization, and I loved this role! I was able to travel to unique cities around the world, I enjoyed being busy and pushed out of my comfort zone, I was able to meet some wonderful people along the way, and I greatly appreciated being part of an organization that had a sole mission of bringing positivity to the world.
Cons
For some people, this job will be too hectic. Between staying in a host family myself and only having 5 weeks to achieve something that often felt impossible, you do not get a lot of time for yourself or much of a break. However, there are a handful of other roles as cast staff that are definitely worth checking out. They travel with the cast and work at a much slower pace. Or, participating as a cast member is a great opportunity as well! We provide educational opportunities in each city such as guest speakers or roundtables, and cast members can even choose to take courses for university credit.
