“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
I grew up in San Jose, CA to very traditional Vietnamese parents. They wanted so much for me to become a doctor, and weren’t shy at letting it be known. I entered the workforce at 16, and worked hard to put myself through uni, while working and studying full time. When I started my studies, I had every intention of getting a doctorate, but after earning my degree I felt differently, as I’m sure many people do.
I had a degree, but had no idea what to do with it, or myself. I’d worked so hard and so long to please my parents, that I forgot about what I wanted. I knew that I enjoyed working in a café more than I did in my major field, and that’s when I knew I wasn’t past the point of no return. So I decided soon after graduating to pursue the only thing I knew I loved: travelling! It was always a dream of mine to live in a foreign country, along with being in a successful band touring the world. At least one of my dreams could come true. Note: I have no musical talents what-so-ever.
Though I was good at many things, I didn’t know what I had a love or passion for except for travelling so I thought best to start there. Imagine trying to find your profession, instead of a job, when you don’t have the slightest clue of what you want to do. I needed to sort out what I wanted to do, not just what I was good at doing, and decided that I was going to do it in Australia.
And so my journey began. I moved to Australia with very little money to my name and started working for Sydney Harbour Tall Ships as a ticketing agent, and worked my way up quickly to become the Reservations Manager, managing a small team of reservationists. I also handled much of their inbound agents and that is how I found out about TourConnect.
It was just in passing that I saw a footnote about the opportunity to work with TourConnect and after meeting with the guys and learning about the company, I knew this would be perfect for me, and would hopefully be my next move. Since moving away, I’ve rekindled my passion for travel, and have found my love for the tourism industry. I’m very excited to be working at TourConnect, and am excited to have found a place where my talents for customer relations can blend with my love for the industry. I had initially planned on staying in Australia for just one year. Three years later, I’m still here and have no plans to leave!
I’ll be here to help you with whatever you need. You can reach me at info@tourconnect.com or in Sydney at +61 2 9188 1607.
Trinh
Customer Experience Manager
