Meet the Team

Stephen has travelled to most parts of the globe over the past 30 years. From Vietnam to Cuba and all parts in between. Stephens travels have reinforced for him the huge learning opportunities that present themselves in the many diverse lands, rich in culture, language and history.

Defining Moments was established out of Stephen’s aspiration to allow senior secondary students the chance to learn parts of the curriculum in a global setting.

Specialising in travel programmes for Social Sciences and Languages, Defining Moments is structured in such a way that it ensures teachers are well supported throughout the entire tour organisation process.

Having had 3 of his own children undertake one of the many Defining Moments tours he is even more of an advocate for parents allowing their children the opportunity to travel with their peers on what is a life changing journey.

With a secondary teaching background and a passion for travel, Amber is perfectly placed to understand the pressures and commitments of a teacher organising a tour. Having personally led five international school tours through Europe and America and lived and travelled extensively around the globe, Amber’s knowledge of the details of her tours set her apart.

She understands firsthand the benefits students gain from these tours and is passionate about helping as many students to experience these as possible. With an eye for detail, Amber works closely with the teacher to create an itinerary that will leave a lasting, inspirational and educational memory.

One of Amber’s most memorable school trips as a teacher was taking a group of 53 Science students to Florida, USA. She was impressed with the educational value and variety of experiences that the Kennedy Space Center was able to offer students. A delay in flight schedules meant missing the planned satellite launch, but lunch with a decorated NASA Flight Commander was an absolute highlight. The incredible cultural and social elements including theme parks, airboating through the everglades and spotting manatee made it an unforgettable trip.

Amber comes to Defining Moments with a double degree from Otago University in Education and Physical Education and a number of years teaching experience both in New Zealand and abroad. On returning to NZ, she made the decision to share her passion for travel and to encourage students to get out there and see the world. In her work as a school travel agent, she accompanied Northcote College on their inspiring trip to South Africa. A group of 92 travellers, who spent two weeks touring a country with beauty to rival our own. When reflecting on this trip, she feels one of the most rewarding experiences was a visit to a local orphanage and the opportunity to spend time with the students there (see photo). A reminder  that sometimes it takes some time away from NZ to truly realise the fantastic opportunities we have here.

There are not many parts of our planet that Kristy has not ventured upon, so she is ideally suited to work alongside history, geography, classics and tourism teachers to ensure that their journeys are everything they imagined and more.

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Vietnam are a couple of her favourite destinations but having just returned from her second visit to Machu Picchu and the Amazon Rainforest it has reinforced for her that there are so many other favourites as well.

Kristy holds a Degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, and has a passion for adventure. Her ability to call on her personal travel experience ensures she creates the very best itineraries as they relate to the curriculum. Being a dedicated resource for Social Science groups is what teachers appreciate the most, and it gives them confidence and peace of mind to know that everything has been taken care of, right down to the last details.

Monique has returned to House of Travel to join Defining Moments after 5 years living in Australia. She holds a Diploma in Travel and Tourism and she comes from a background in Corporate Travel having started her career with us here many years ago.  With her experience of her corporate background, she understands fully the time pressures placed on the teachers organising the tours.

Monique has done some extensive travelling further afield in parts of Europe, England, Scotland and Ireland, the Middle East, Asia, Indonesia, USA, Australia and the South Pacific. This combined with hands on experience of travelling with some of our school groups has enabled her to have a better understanding of the tour processes and operations.

England and Ireland and Hungary are some of her favourite countries that she has visited. She loves the rich and colourful histories and some highlights from her time there include visiting Stonehenge, climbing Blarney Castle and visiting the Parliment Building in Budapest.

Starting her travels early, Alysha was one of the very first students to go on a Defining Moments tour to Vietnam. Almost two decades later, she still looks back on this educational tour as one of the highlights of her life.

Vietnam was just the beginning of Alysha’s travel experiences having since lived and travelled to various states in Australia, America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific islands.

She holds a Diploma of Hospitality Management & Higher Diploma of Hospitality Management.

With her love of travel and history, along with her personal experience as a student, Alysha is a great advocate for future students and teachers who are looking to embark on an educational tour.

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Jodie joined Defining Moments/House of Travel Whangarei after being a primary school teacher in NZ for 13 years. She works remotely in Nelson, alongside Amber and Janita, also in our sales team.

She grew up in the UK and was lucky enough to have had many opportunities for travel around Europe, including several secondary school history and language trips in Europe. This ignited a passion to travel and explore other parts of the world. Jodie has never been one to visit a destination for long, instead visiting for an action packed few days then moving on. With so much history and culture on offer in places like Europe she likes to see as much as possible.

Since having children, travel takes a slower pace with the family opting for relaxation filled beach holidays in Fiji.

Jodie loves the variety of her job. She loves to see the range of destinations that NZ secondary school students get to visit. The hardest part of the role is finding more places she wants to experience!

Janita has previously gained a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning, has spent the past 15 years in the education sector, and is the newest member of the Groups Team.

In her spare time, she enjoys adventuring in the outdoors and has been heavily involved in a range of high-level sports.  Sport has taken her to various places worldwide, including Vietnam, Singapore, a range of places within Australia as well as all over New Zealand.

Paris has to be one of her favourite places further abroad, rich in history and spending time visiting the Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, alongside sampling the numerous cafés and eateries!  

With family in the Cook Islands, this is her favourite destination closer to home.  You can choose to be as adventurous or relaxed as you want.  The food, culture and people make the Cook Islands an amazing place to visit.

Early on Aline had an interest in travel. She chose to study tourism when she was 16years old. After completing her secondary school in Belgium, she took a gap year to stay with a host family in Argentina. She fell in love with South America and Argentina’s amazing culture and people.

Upon return to Belgium, Aline gained a Bachelor of Business - Tourism and Recreation Management. She has worked over 5 years as a Production Assistant for an outbound tour operator and over 3 years as a Groups Consultant.

Growing up in the centre of Europe provided Aline with plenty of opportunities for travel to all corners of the continent including educational trips to Spain, Austria, and Hungary.

Aline later travelled further across the oceans to New York, Central and South America, Southern Africa, Tanzania, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and Tahiti.

One of her favourite destinations is Reunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean. It is an intriguing gem with a melting pot of cultures. The rugged volcanic interior and rainforests offer plenty of activities to the adventurous. There are beautiful beaches to relax and numerous restaurants to enjoy the local cuisine.

Discovering places around the globe is an invaluable experience that shapes someone’s perspective on life and contributes to their personal growth.

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