At my graduation dinner, I found myself seated next to the professor who had admitted me to Cambridge. I casually asked what it was that made my profile stand out. Everyone who interviewed well had the grades, the references, the polished personal statements. She told me it was because my life didn’t look like everyone else’s – the mix of cross-cultural experiences and my gap year plans made her think I had a curiosity that would thrive in a high pressure place where curiosity matters.
Over a decade later and with the benefit of hindsight, her words mean more to me than ever. Everything I learned in classrooms and in my career has been valuable, and I use a lot of those skills every day. But it’s clear that I wouldn’t be who I am without travel. It’s what taught me to challenge myself, explore, ask better questions, connect with strangers, navigate unfamiliar moments, adapt quickly, and feel at home in places I’ve never been.
From touching down in Brazil at 18, about to embark on a five-month solo adventure across South America, to now having travelled through 60 countries – usually with a backpack, a camera, a very loose plan (or no plan at all) and questionable phone signal – travel has shaped my life in ways I didn’t see coming.
But here’s the thing: not everyone can or wants to take that much time off. And travel that’s purely cookie-cutter, or just to tick off scenic sights, might be fun and relaxing but it doesn’t stretch you the same way. It doesn’t shift your perspective on the world.
That’s exactly why I started OTW – to pack the good stuff, the growth moments, the beautiful messiness, the genuine local connections into 12 days of intentional travel that gives back to the communities you explore.
There’s nothing quite like stepping off a plane somewhere new and realising you’re capable of so much more than you thought – that the world is huge and also completely within reach. The more you lean into that feeling, the more adventures unlock themselves.
When you meet local people, you trade stories, jokes, snacks – and suddenly you’re not strangers anymore. Travel does that; it turns you into a quiet ambassador for where you’re from and opens corners of the world you didn’t even know you needed. I think right now, more than ever, we need spaces that help us connect.
OTW is my way of sharing all of that – the confidence, the curiosity, the independence, the stories you’ll still be telling years from now. Come see the world with us. You’ll come back different, in the best possible way.
Fiona
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