Destiny Benders: Recent Episodes
Jessica Guiver & Girish Ballolla
International educators are a unique breed! They work tirelessly around the world to promote global education and stewardship. Whether they’re recruiting a student, promoting study abroad opportunities, or ensuring student success on campus, they open new doors and make dreams come true. They change lives and bend destinies.
And along the way, many of their own lives are changed and their own destinies bent.
If you’re interested to hear more about the international educators whose mission it is to change lives and bend destinies, this is the podcast for you.
Jessica Guiver and Girish Ballolla engage in candid conversations with guests to learn more about their journeys, when they realized they were bending destinies, and how their own lives have been changed in the process.
We speak with Marina Casals Sala, Director of Member Relations for Europe and the UK at ISEP Study Abroad
We speak with Alejandra Otero, the Founder & CEO of geNEOus, Education Marketing Experts with a Purpose.
We speak with Tamsin Thomas, the Senior Strategic Engagement Manager (UK & Ireland) at Duolingo.
We speak with Blair Thomson McElroy, the Director of Study Abroad and Senior International Officer at the University of Mississippi.
We speak with Melissa Deschamps, EducationUSA REAC: Regional Director, Middle East & North Africa (Interim, Western & Northern Europe).
We speak with Fanta Aw, the CEO and Executive Director at NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
We speak with Nitina Dua, Head of the College & Career Guidance Center at the Shiv Nadar School in Noida, India.
Girish meets up with international educators at the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) annual conference.
We speak with Sanam Arora, Founder & Chairperson of National Indian Students & Alumni Union UK
We speak with Andrew Gordon, Founder of Diversity Abroad, and now CEO & Founder of Includifi.
We speak with Samir Shah, Vice President, Partnerships & Customer Success at VolunteerMatch.
We speak with Joan Liu, international high school college counsellor and founder of the non-profit, Second Chance which helps deserving, high achieving international students who need full financial assistance find places at colleges & universities across the globe.
To learn more and to donate, please go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/launching-second-chance-a-new-nonprofit
Girish travelled to Senegal to accompany several senior international officers from the Southeast USA. He grabbed a few moments to speak with them.
We speak with Gretchen Dobson, Associate Director Scholarships, International Alumni expert and Global Engagement Specialist.
As part of her day job working for The PIE, Jessica was at The PIE Live North America event in Toronto. She took some time to speak with a few people and find out how they got into international education.
Simone takes us through her journey of growing up in Thailand, wanting the change the world, embarking on a career in journalism, and watching the inequities in the business world and deciding to do something about it by setting up the Business Women in Education Network.- a storied career in such a short span. A must listen. Simone Rensch is the Search Director & Insight Manager at The PIE.
Following an exciting announcement of THE acquiring BMI, Samir joins us to share his journey on how BMI got started, how they’ve grown over the years, and how the infamous NAFSA Brazil came to be. Samir Zaveri is President & CEO of BMI Global.
Girish speaks with attendees at the European Association for International Education (EAIE) annual conference in Barcelona!
Lakshmi Kumar shares her lifelong dream of addressing mental health in India, based on her own childhood experiences, which led her to design and develop child-centric environments in schools. Lakshmi is the Founder Director of the Orchid School in Pune, India.
Stav Boutsis reflects on her 20+ year career in admissions and enrollment management from starting as a campus tour guide to moving to Saudi Arabia to develop graduate recruitment programs. Her thoughtful insights about her journey, the people she's met, the colleagues she cherishes, and her advice for young professionals is a must-listen. Stav is the Manager of Saudi Graduate Recruitment & Development at KAUST, Saudi Arabia.
Being jobless for a year may have been a blessing in disguise for Lakshmi Iyer whose relentless job search accidentally brought her into international education - a field she was meant to be in. Lakshmi also shares her journey of being an international student and how that experience influencer her role as a counselor. Lakshmi is a senior international education professional based in India.
Join us on Troy Peden's inspirational journey from growing up in rural Illinois to starting a company and a foundation that's making a global impact. Troy is the founder of GoAbroad.com
Susan Fang shares her journey of becoming an architect, switching to a career in journalism, and finally starting her own business helping students access global education. Don't miss her unique response to the question, "who bent your destiny?" Susan is the CEO & Co-Founder of Oxbridge Holdings
Live from the NAFSA Conference Expo Hall floor in Denver, Colorado, Girish speaks with fellow international educators.
Our guest Stacey shares her journey of how her life of privilege led to her wanting to make an impact on K-12 education in South Africa. Stacey Brewer, Co-founder & CEO of Spark Schools in South Africa.
Andrew Disbury describes his accidental journey on becoming an international educator beginning with his love for languages, his experience in China, and opportunities that came his way. Andrew is a retired international education professional.
We speak with Sarah Rimini, Head of International Student Recruitment Europe at Inspired Education Group.
Steven Boyd takes us on a journey of his career which started as an impromptu study abroad opportunity in Mexico and has taken him around the world. Steve is the Dean of Enrollment Management & Student Life at Unification Theological Seminary in New York City.
We speak with Christina Thompson, Director of Partnership Development & Diversity Initiatives at Barcelona SAE, and Founder of Compear Global Education Network.
International student recruiter turned entrepreneur Danlu Liu shares her journey of starting as a TV correspondent in China to ending up in the UK as a student, how 9/11 impacted her journey, and the challenges of juggling motherhood with entrepreneurship. Danlu is the Founder & Managing Director of Edukatus.
Jenny Tassel talks about being a TCK growing up in the Panama Canal Zone, discovering her true identity, realizing her passion for counseling, and how her upbringing shapes her counseling philosophies. Jenny is the Head of Counselling at the International School of Panama.
Our guest Vern Granger talks about his journey of being a first generation college student, discovering his passion for admissions, the importance of representation, and his commitment to enhancing diversity. Vern is the Director of Admissions at the University of Connecticut and Chair-Elect of NACAC
John Wilkerson regales us with stories of his exciting journey of being an international educator, his insights into the current state of international education, and his uncanny ability to get into sticky situations around the world - you have to listen to believe it. John is the Associate Vice President for International Services at Indiana University, USA.
Bridget Herrera takes us on her 30+ year journey of being a counselor, how she accidentally fell into the career, the changes she has seen over the years, and how she continues to change lives. Bridget is the College Counselor at the American International School of Dhaka in Bangladesh.
Sally & Jonathan Andwati, the power couple at St. Andrew's School in Turi, Kenya take us on their journey of persistence and perseverance in bringing global education opportunities to their remote corner of Kenya. Sally is the Career Counselor and Jonathan is the Head of 6th Form College at St. Andrew's School in Turi.
Derrick Alex shares his journey of happenstances - from deciding to study in the US to ending up with a career in international admissions. Derrick is the Director of International Admissions at the University of Houston in Texas.
Bobby Mehta talks about growing up as a TCK listening to stories about his parents' childhood and the challenges he confronted navigating those same cultures while developing a passion for international education. Bobby is the Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement) at the University of Portsmouth.
Karin Fischer walks us through the journey of capturing the essence of international education through her work as a journalist and giving voices to those who don't always have one. Karin is an international education journalist, correspondent, and publisher of latitude(s), a newsletter on global education.
Dr. Barry Craig shares his journey from being an orphan to becoming the president of a university. We discuss his mission of developing Leaders with Heart and the path to happiness. Dr. Barry Craig is the President of Huron University in London, Canada
Cecilia Pereira-Yates talks about her journey from Malaysia to the U.K. to pursue graduate education and how she navigated her way through obstacles and opportunities to find a vocation that was meant for her. Cecilia is the founder & managing director of GB8, an international education consultancy based in the U.K. with a focus on Southeast Asia.
Dr. Gabrielle Malfatti takes us on her journey from Colombia to Columbia, Missouri and how she got to where she is today. She talks about how she was encouraged to go on a path she never imagined herself to be on, how she crafted jobs for herself, why she coined the term 'Destiny Benders', and how she's changing lives of educators across the world. She is the Director of Global Engagement for the College of Education & Human Development at the University of Missouri.
If you’re interested to hear more about the international educators whose mission it is to change lives and bend destinies, this is the podcast for you. Jessica and Girish engage in candid conversations with guests to learn more about their journeys, when they realized they were bending destinies, and how their own lives have been changed in the process. But first, learn more about your hosts and how they ended up where they are today and why they decided to launch this podcast.
New episodes every Wednesday starting on January 26, 2022.
Here's a sneak peek into why we started this podcast. Hope you'll subscribe and listen to what our guests have to say.