SHANNON O’HALLORAN, CO-DIRECTOR

Shannon first fell in love with travel and languages during her senior year of high school at Phillips Exeter Academy when she studied in Cuernavaca, Mexico during her winter semester.  While not on full scholarship, like many of her travel mates, Shannon would never have been able to participate in such a trip if it had not been part of her tuition.  This concept continues to resonate with her today.  She went on to study international relations at Georgetown University where she focused on language and cultural studies of Latin America and studied internationally in Buenos Aires.

Shannon grew up in a small town on the seacoast of New Hampshire, but has spent her adult life living in Washington, DC, New York and Boston.  After graduation she worked as a Spanish teacher, advisor and coach at independent schools in New York and Massachusetts and recently completed her EdM in International Educational Development at Boston University.

In the summer of 2009, Shannon led a group of 15 high school students on an adventure and service learning trip through Costa Rica with Walking Tree Travel.  Witnessing the personal transformation of each student throughout the trip has further solidified her desire to make international travel and learning experiences accessible to all youth.  She has made numerous trips back to Mexico and has traveled throughout Europe, Argentina, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Puerto Rico. Shannon loves planning trips, writing, and challenging both herself and others to try new things.

Contact: directors@thewanderingscholar.org

TAMARA J. WALKER, CO-DIRECTOR

Tamara grew up in Denver, Colorado and spent the first half of her education attending poorly funded public schools. After receiving a generous scholarship, she enrolled at an area private school, where international education was deeply ingrained into both the culture and curriculum. Even as a seventh grader, she lagged behind her peers, who by then had been studying foreign languages, learning about other countries, and traveling abroad for several years.

While initially overwhelmed, she soon began to thrive in this environment, and was eventually able to put her Spanish and French skills to the test on class trips to Mexico and France. These experiences helped solidify a passion for cross-cultural exchange, which she continued to pursue as a Spanish major at the University of Pennsylvania (when she studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina), and later as a PhD student in Latin American History at the University of Michigan (when she received a Fulbright award for study in Peru).

Today, Tamara is an Assistant Professor of Colonial Latin American History at the University of Pennsylvania. As someone who was fortunate enough to gain exposure to international education at a young age, she knows how important those experiences are in shaping career possibilities. She sees The Wandering Scholar as an important step towards ensuring that more underserved students receive the kinds of opportunities that helped change her own life.

Contact: directors@thewanderingscholar.org

EMILY WILLIAMS, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS INTERN

Emily Williams grew up in a diverse suburb of Washington, DC, where she was exposed to a variety of cultures and cuisines from a young age. During her high school and undergraduate studies, she was able to participate in multiple study abroad experiences to France and Martinique. These were formative events in Emily’s life and truly solidified her love of travel.

After completing a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and French at Union College in 2006, Emily longed to live abroad.  Thus, she moved to the South of France for a year teaching English to high school students and working as a staff writer for a local tourist newspaper. Since moving back to the U.S. in 2007, Emily has been working in the travel industry for an international tour operator.  She is currently completing her M.A. in Intercultural Relations at Lesley University.

Contact: emily@thewanderingscholar.org

VANYA ANAYA, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS INTERN

Vanya grew up on the island of Aruba surrounded by multiple languages and cultures. From a young age, Vanya has attended schools with large international communities and those experiences formed her early desire to travel and learn more about other cultures and even more languages. As a teenager she had the opportunity to travel with her science class to Belize for an in-depth and hands-on study of tropical ecology. This experience led to her interest in international learning experiences. She has lived and studied in Bolivia, the Netherlands, and several states in the United States, including Michigan, Florida and New York.

Vanya graduated from New York University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education in 2009. Since that time she has worked as a teacher in East New York, Brooklyn and Cochabamba, Bolivia. It is through her travels that she has had the opportunity to experience different cultures and educational experiences and has known the importance of these travels in both her academic pursuits and personal growth. She is interested in international educational policy and will be pursuing her master’s degree at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education this fall.

Contact: vanya@thewanderingscholar.org

HYUN JOO KIM, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS INTERN

Hyun Joo Kim is from Seoul, South Korea. She came to the U.S. to study abroad when she was 16 years old. She fell in love with the multilingual and multicultural environment. During her stay in the U.S., she traveled to other countries, such as Hong Kong, Japan, and England. She also participated in a study abroad program in France. She speaks Korean, English and French.

Hyun Joo received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2009. Upon her graduation, she decided to further her study to help children who are in need. She received M.S.Ed in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania. During her course of study, she worked for a NGO to provide resources to poorly funded schools, and interned at a charter school to help students who dropped out of high school. In the winter of 2010, she visited Guatemala to teach literacy and numeracy to the indigenous Mayan children.

Contact: hyunjoo@thewanderingscholar.org

KARA MULLIKIN, SOCIAL MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS INTERN

Kara grew up in a small south east Wisconsin city where her father’s international travel for a global consumer goods company introduced her to a wide range of cultures, international travelers, ex-pats and family friends. Her middle and high school years brought further international friendships especially with Argentines, Brazilians, Venezuelans and Spaniards. The thought of being like her father someday and being able to travel all over the globe sparked her initial desire for international travel and different cultures. During Kara’s junior year at Marquette University, she spent 6 months overseas in Madrid, Spain where she attended the Universidad Complutense Madrid. While there, Kara was able to travel all over Europe visiting London, Paris, Morocco, Amsterdam, and Palma Mallorca as well as many of the smaller hometowns of her Spanish university friends. Kara not only left Madrid with stronger Spanish skills but also formed lifelong friendships during her stay.

Kara graduated from Marquette University in May of 2010. Since graduation she has been working with the United Way in her home town as an account executive and campaign coordinator for their annual campaign. Once the campaign is over in December, Kara plans to move to NYC to work with her new internships at The Wandering Scholar and in the fashion industry where she hopes to broaden her professional experience in public relations and social media marketing.

Contact: kara@thewanderingscholar.org