We would like to introduce the group of staff readers for our Global Book Club’s third book, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Get to know them here, through their self-written bios, and stay tuned for the first book discussion later this week.
Katherine Hubbard, Manager, Student Conferences
I am a native of Kansas City, and moved back to the area in 2004 after graduating from Pepperdine University, where I received a bachelor’s degree in Religion. Since 2005 I have worked in the Student Department at People to People International. In my current position, I am responsible for coordinating the Global Youth Forum, the EXPERIENCE student travel programs and YG travel programs.
I had the wonderful opportunity to spend my sophomore year of college studying abroad in the beautiful city of Heidelberg, Germany, and I have been equally lucky to see fascinating parts of the globe through my work with PTPI. My favorite international travel experience has been hiking through the villages of Cinque Terre in Italy. Everything from the coastline hugging hike, colorful villages built into cliffs, fresh seafood and local wine enjoyed while watching a spectacular sunset was as relaxing as it was invigorating; it is a place I definitely want to visit again!
Outside of work, I greatly enjoy spending time with my husband (Josh) and dog (Hershey), cooking, running, working on our house, being in the Colorado mountains each summer and Kansas City Chiefs football.
Ahmed Roushdy, Middle East/Africa Coordinator
I’m from Cairo, Egypt. One of my favorite things to my heart is traveling. It doesn’t matter whether it’s just couple of hours driving to a remote place in the Egyptian desert overlooking the Red Sea‘s turquoise water or 24 hour flights with many “randomly selected” security checks – I just love it. Meeting new people, my eyes watching new scenery, listening to different music and language as well as enjoying diverse cuisines is just addictive.
My personal and professional passion is marketing. I am planning to start my MBA in couple of years with a Marketing concentration and possibly an integration of International Relations. I love reading books about personal development and I am blessed to be living in a city which takes hours of commute time between point A and point B. Cairo’s traffic is just crazy, but its part of our daily routine. Looking at the positive side, I am blessed with time so I get to listen to a lot of audio books.
My favorite travel experience was my first trip to Paris. It meant a lot to me to finally be able to use my French, which I studied for around nine years, to walk around Paris and enjoy the lovely buildings, as well as to walk up and down the Champs-Élysées. I loved the people, the food and the art. The Arc de Triumph and Tour Eiffel were just spectacular. My dream came true: mon beau voyage à Paris! Moreover, I made sure not to do everything possible on my Paris list so that when I visit again, I will have a chance to cross off new things. There are so many things that could be done – and I didn’t want to waste them all in just one trip.
Liz Wegman, Director, Public Relations and Development
I too am a native of Kansas City and have been lucky to spend most of my career at PTPI. My childhood was very fortunately filled with quite a bit of travel, mainly throughout the United States and especially to U.S. National Parks. A lot of my earliest memories are vague – my parents go a million miles an hour and often I couldn’t even remember what state we were in – but I think the first memory that stands out is of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. There you can tour the cliff dwellings of the Pueblo people who lived in pueblos beneath the cliffs for more than 700 years. It was beautiful and magical to me; I wanted to learn as much about the people and culture as I could. That interest in learning and traveling still exists to this day
I graduated from Benedictine College with degrees in French, Mass Communications and English. I spent a summer studying in Paris during college and spent a year in Switzerland after I finished school. I’m still always on the lookout for my next adventure (and recently returned from a fabulous trip to beloved Switzerland), yet I also love enjoying Kansas City and the amazing friends and family I have here. You’ll more often than not find me reading, walking or laughing.
Our staff readers have prepared this list of discussion questions for those reading In a Sunburned Country. Use these if you are