New AD-team member

Note from Nia:

Hi everyone I’m Nia Donovan and I have been with Andaman Discoveries for just over 2 months now and I have enjoyed every minute of it. Having completed my degree in Tourism Management at Oxford Brookes University in England I have always felt genuine passion for travel and community-led tourism. As an adventure seeker I started traveling quite young and so far have been fortunate enough to have lived and traveled in the UK, USA, Spain, Brazil and Thailand among others. My aim is to roam the planet in a responsible way, soaking up different cultures, tasting different flavors, exploring paths less trodden and where possible giving something back to the communities I visit. I came to Thailand for the first time in 2010 as an exchange student and after spending 6 months living, studying and travelling in this beautiful country I knew I will come back one day. While studying at Mahidon University in Bangkok I came to learn about Andaman Discoveries and was immediately fascinated and inspired by the work they do and decided that I really want to “become part of the story”.

Working closely with Karen I have the rare chance to get a glimpse of how a small organization such as AD can make a big difference and every day spent in the office or out in the field provides me with a new learning experience. Although my responsibilities are primarily centered around the management of client bookings and volunteer coordinating so far I have had the chance to write stories for the blog and newsletter, update the social media sites, wrote a case study which will be featured in a Tourism textbook, visited projects and worked on new program development. I am also using my past experience gained in the tourism sector to try and improve systems and process in the AD office. I am truly grateful for having this wonderful opportunity and look forward to the next 4 months as part of the AD team.