This feature was first published in Journeys Summer 2019.

This article was written by communications intern Sarah Hilty.

I looked down at the vibrating phone on my desk and saw a 202 area code. I recognized the number was from Washington DC from my four years teaching there. I also knew that applicants would be contacted about selection for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship in early February. My breath caught a bit as I turned back to my first graders, who were beginning to pack up to head home. I was more than a little distracted during dismissal that day.
—www.alisontravis.com

Half an hour later, Alison Chin Travis (Class of 2008) returned the call to find out that she had been accepted into the 2018 cohort of Grosvenor Teacher Fellows! She was ready to partner with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions for this professional development opportunity of a lifetime. Over nine months, Travis along with 39 other Fellows would be going on expeditions to remote locations such as the Arctic, Antarctica, Alaska, and the Galápagos Islands. They would bring back and synthesize data, media, and stories to enhance geographic literacy for students in their schools.

A seven-day voyage to the Galapagos Islands gave Travis more insight into the classroom without walls philosophy that she had experienced in middle school at Singapore American School. She spent 14 years at SAS from kindergarten through twelfth grade and the experience of living as an American expat and traveling internationally fueled her focus as an educator.

Today, Travis is an elementary educator, teacher mentor, and third-culture kid teaching first grade at Prospect Ridge Academy in Broomfield, Colorado. Travis aspires to teach her students to be good, engaged community members, and global citizens. The model exploration and real-world learning through the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship was a very tangible way to achieve her goal.

Travis’ SAS journey began in 1994 when as a four-year old she left Connecticut for a far-off island called Singapore. Even with the knowledge that her mother originated from Hong Kong, she found the idea of a move difficult to fathom. Disappointed to be leaving the corner of the world she called home, Travis and her family soon fell in love with the beautiful, bustling city of Singapore, and ended up staying for 14 years.

At SAS, Travis fell in love with the arts program, finding a passion for dance and musical theater in her middle and high school years. Travis also experienced what many students do in international environments—constant goodbyes.

Like many students who have been forced to contend with friends and classmates moving away, Travis was no stranger to the hurt that came with a feeling of abandonment. At SAS, Travis gained a perspective of the world that only a third-culture kid can claim, which played an integral part in influencing her future teaching style.

After graduation, Travis attended University of Virginia in the United States, graduating with a double major in political philosophy, policy, and law and psychology. She then went on to receive her Master’s degree in education while working as a kindergarten teacher in Washington DC. In DC, Travis developed teaching philosophies for use in her classrooms, growing and learning as an educator during her years in the city. She eventually moved to Boulder, Colorado with her husband, continuing to teach in the new state as well.

Her love of educating stemmed from her years at SAS. Her experiences in leading others as a student allowed Travis to discover what she ultimately loved to do, leading her into a successful career in education.