Hello STAMPED listeners; I know it’s been a while, but as Black history month 2023 comes to a close, I’m so excited share what’s been going on in my world! It’s been an extremely busy time, but one that’s been full of great things. In this quick update, I share information about my newly published article on Black travel, speaking engagements, and...STAMPED IS BACK! Be sure to add STAMPED to your list of favorite podcasts so you don't miss an episode. YOU'VE BEEN STAMPED! Charis...
Mar 01, 2023•2 min
We're kicking off season 4 of STAMPED with a dynamic story from Candace Ricks! She opens the discussion by sharing the impact of her family on her decision to travel, paying special homage grandmother! Pick a destination, Candace has probably been there; building relationships with people in each place was a treasured take away from her time abroad. In this episode we're discussing study abroad, teaching abroad, serving as an au pair, and taking a radical sabbatical. Even more important is our d...
Feb 01, 2022•52 min
Hello and welcome back to another season of STAMPED! By now schools are back in full swing and the start of this episode makes our third fall semester 😊 I guess you could say this is our junior year! This year we hope to build out STAMPED in a way that provides more foundational information on study abroad while continuing to share impactful international education stories! So for today we’re starting off with the basics. 1. What is study abroad? 2. What types of study abroad exist? 3. Where ca...
Sep 08, 2021•5 min
STAMPED is pleased to welcome Tyvi Small, Vice Chancellor of Diversity and Engagement at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Our interview starts with Tyvi's early travel experiences as well as his introduction to the world of study abroad! He recounted that while in undergrad he was very engaged in various campus programs, but the one thing he didn't do was study abroad. Now, a higher education professional, Tyvi works diligently to provide international opportunities for all students. Durin...
May 18, 2021•39 min•Season 3Ep. 8
It is my pleasure to welcome Phelicia Price to STAMPED! I love when the experiences of friends and family align with the mission of STAMPED. Phelicia has been a dear friend of mine for roughly 20 years, so it was only natural that I wanted to share her story on STAMPED. While obtaining a second bachelor’s degree, she did something rare…she read her email (lol). On that particularly day she found exiting news, an email about a study abroad program to Italy offered by the communication’s departmen...
May 05, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 7
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Devin Walker, Director of Global Leadership and Social Impact at the University of Texas at Austin. Devin is also the CEO and founder of The World Walker Foundation, a 501(c) (3), which provides educational and financial resources to help students of the African diaspora participate in service-learning trips to the African diaspora. Early travel experiences facilitated by his parents spurred his interest in people and places. He says with each trip his conf...
Apr 27, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 6
This was an exciting first for STAMPED; this episode was done live! As a part of ISA by Worldstrides February 2021 Live Expo, we had the opportunity to interview Malaika Serrano, VP of Diversity and Inclusion. Malaika is a powerhouse in the industry and someone I look up to in the field. For nearly 20 years, Malaika has led diversity and inclusion initiatives in academic, non-profit and private sector spaces. In her current position as the VP for diversity and inclusion at WorldStrides, she work...
Mar 02, 2021•46 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Moving abroad comes with a lot of adjustments. From learning a new language to making new friends the early days can be a bit traumatic. In Part II of Facing Fears Kenny describes his early experiences living in China and the adjustments he had to make to successfully navigate his new home. Towards the end of the convo, we dive into his entrepreneurial journey. It’s one thing to start your own business in the States, but could you imagine starting one in a foreign country? Well Kenny used his sk...
Feb 16, 2021•45 min•Season 3Ep. 4
You may remember our guest Kenneth (Kenny) Taylor from our episode " Quarantine Conversations ". As we shared last year, we had such a good time catching up, we ended up on the phone for 3 hours!! Our chat was too good not to share, so we're offering it in small doses throughout the month of February. Kenny's story brings a new set of identities to our STAMPED stories. This episode, "Facing Fear" is an open and honest conversation about life as a Black gay man and how these identities played int...
Feb 02, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 3
I met Henrietta (Henrie) while teaching in China nearly five years ago and I'm so delighted we've remained in contact. She has a lovely spirit and it definetly shines through on this episode. Henrie's experiences working in a bank highlighted the language barriers that existed between employees and foreign visitors. Recognizing this gap in service led her to research teaching English abroad. Initial findings related to being Black in China deterred her, but years later she revisited the idea and...
Jan 19, 2021•29 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Our first guest of 2021, Courtney Tucker, brings us a unique twist on travel and sports and how these efforts combined led to a budding new business! Courtney began playing fastpitch around age 10. Family vacations soon merged into travel associated with softball tournaments! Participating in travel softball teams led to opportunities to play the sport she loved while seeing other parts of the U.S. In this episode we talk about balancing athletics and academics and the importance of building a r...
Jan 05, 2021•34 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Hello and happy first day of September! If you've been following our journey you know that we had the opportunity to pitch STAMPED at the Diversity Abroad conference. Even better than pitching was actually winning 3rd place! For those who weren't able to attend, I thought it would be fun to share my pitch with you. In this version I took the liberty of explaining things in a little more detail but overall this is the pitch! Again it was such an honor to present at the Diversity Abroad Innovation...
Sep 01, 2020•11 min
Growing up in a military family, traveling was something Alieshia was accustomed to doing, so when the opportunities presented itself in the form of a high school trip to Paris, she jumped at the opportunity. Once in college, she knew she wanted to travel to a Spanish speaking country, but hadn't thought about doing so to earn academic credit. Fortunately, a representative came to one of her classes to talk about a study abroad program to Panama. This presentation coupled with insights she gaine...
Aug 04, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Have you ever looked at a business name and wondered "how'd they come up with that or what does that mean"? I think this all the time, so today I'm letting you in on the back story of Travel Gene LLC. Learn what inspired the company and the meaning behind the name. In this episode, you'll learn about our new project! I’m so excited to announce that Travel Gene LLC is launching the first ever course on Black travel . Think of it as the really cool elective class you needed, but wasn’t offered in ...
Jul 21, 2020•7 min
Sometimes I’m still amazed at the connections you can make via social media, which is exactly how I became acquainted with our new guest, Tyler Janeé. Her early travel experiences started with family RV trips. A trip to Jamaica sparked her interest in international travel and for years she's been making it happen by any means necessary! In high school, a study abroad advisor visited her class to talk about collegiate study abroad opportunities (how cool)! From that point on, she knew study abroa...
Jul 07, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Our latest interview took place in May with Jordyn, a Hampton University graduate. While at Hampton he studied business management and leadership. We recorded this interview in May, and initially it was slated for release in late August for our Fall 2020 season but our discussion on COVID-19 and the development virtual exchange seemed so timely that we decided to release it early. What we didn’t know was just how timely the other parts of our conversations would be. As the country continues to g...
Jun 09, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The first episode from our “Chat from the field” series was phenomenal! In this episode we discuss Noelle’s early travel experiences to visit family in Jamaica and of course we debrief her experience studying abroad on a faculty led program to South Africa. We also dig into our early experiences in international education. Be sure to listen for the incredible moment we shared recognizing we experienced similar situations as new international educators. (The power of storytelling!) Lastly we disc...
May 26, 2020•49 min•Season 2Ep. 7
I had the pleasure of interviewing a rising junior named Mariam who had her sights set on studying abroad in South Korea during the fall 2020 semester. With the continued impacts of COVID-19, Mariam's not sure her dream of studying abroad will happen, but she, like many other college students, remain excited and hopeful. In this episode Mariam shares her reasons for wanting to study abroad as well as her thoughts about traveling after COVID. Enjoy her story at anchor.fm/STAMPED. ________________...
May 12, 2020•17 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Gabby Beckford is a well known travel blogger and founder of the brand Packs Light. Through her travel and lifestyle blog, she encourages members of Gen Z to seize opportunities and see the world! Gabby has earned over $69,000 in funding, $40,000 of which was dedicated to studying abroad which has allowed her to see the world both during and after college. Her weekly opps are a huge hit and have led to her followers winning funded travel opportunities to places like Russia and Azerbaijan! Gabby ...
Apr 28, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 5
I had the pleasure of interviewing a dear friend, Mr. Kenneth A. Taylor, Jr. As evidence in our 3 hour conversation, he and I had a LOT of catching up to do. Kenny (as he's commonly known) has been living in China for almost four years (at the time of this interview). During our conversation, we discussed topics ranging from the decision to move to China, his podcast-- Mama K's Adventures in China , and starting a business abroad, however this particular episode will focus on his experiences bei...
Apr 21, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 4
My oh my it's been a while, but I promise there's good reason for it! This bonus clip is a special note to all our fans to update you on STAMPED...where I've been and what's to come!
Apr 14, 2020•3 min
It was such a pleasure to interview recent Virginia Tech graduate, Casey Molina. At Tech, Casey majored in Journalism and International Relations. When she began college she thought "studying abroad was out of reach", but with persistence and assistance from her Global Education Office, she was able to make it happen...more than once! Now Casey can add Fulbright recipient to her list of accomplishments. She is currently serving as a teaching assistant in the Canary Islands and is working on a do...
Feb 18, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Phenomenal and peaceful...that's how Qadira described her second collegiate study abroad experience to El Camino de Santiago. Known as one of the most popular pilgrimages in the world, the original route was to the remains of St. James. Today it is estimated that thousands take the journey annually, both as a physical challenge and a spiritual journey. This bonus episode is an excellent example of the reflective practices that can take place through study abroad.
Feb 04, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Qadira is our first guest of 2020 and trust us, you don't want to miss any of this! She openly shares how her family, friends and local businesses came together to make her dreams of studying abroad come true. You'll hear how these early international experiences shaped the trajectory of her life, so much so that studying abroad was a huge reason for choosing her university! Learn how she navigated everyone else's concerns about locations around the world and pushed forward to immerse herself in...
Jan 21, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Hello and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank you to everyone who supported the STAMPED podcast since it's debut, November 2019 during International Education Week. I can't thank you enough for your support! I'm excited to continue sharing study abroad stories as well as stories from industry professionals and travelers like you whose experiences have proved to be meaningful in their lives today. Favorite STAMPED on anchor.fm/STAMPED so you'll never miss an episode. Follow the fun IG: @TravelGeneLLC Facebook:...
Jan 08, 2020•2 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this episode, I sit down with JaNell, who studied abroad during her school's May Term. Note: At her school-Mary Baldwin University, May Term is a three week session after the end of the spring semester when students have the opportunity to focus on a concentrated course that generally meets every day. During this time faculty can lead a course abroad. JaNell said she’d seen the flyers around campus and knew about the places offered for study abroad but never considered it an opportunity for h...
Dec 24, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In this episode, we welcomed STAMPED guest, Shayla Spruill who had her mind set on studying abroad in Japan since the 6th grade. She was so sure about this decision that she wrote out her goal and stuck it to her refrigerator for the entire family to see! Her junior year of college, that refrigerator goal became a reality when she applied and was accepted to become an exchange student at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. She made it a point to apply for funding to support her study abroa...
Dec 10, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Meet two friends, Chelse and Krystyna who are study abroad returners! Chelse spent a semester in Japan at Kansai Gaidai University while Krystyna spent the fall semester at Sungshin Women's University (South Korea) and the spring at Soka University in Japan. Their lively retelling of their time abroad awaits! Resources mentioned in this episode (this is not an affiliate) Language resource mentioned in this podcast were the Youtube channel: "Talk to me in Korean"....
Nov 26, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Breaking down the barriers to make travel accessible, safe, and equitable are key considerations for many stakeholders around the globe. A common questions I get is "why aren't more Black people traveling or studying abroad?" Well they are, but it hasn't been on display in a meaningful way...until now. STAMPED is your go to podcast for stories of study abroad and transformative travel of people of color. If you're a student interested in studying abroad and want to hear the experiences of others...
Nov 19, 2019•1 min
