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When Zach Klein arrived in Rome in the summer of 2011 to begin his study abroad term at AUR, it was the first time he had travelled outside of North America. All that was to change after AUR: Zach’s study abroad experience sparked a curiosity for the wider world that has by now taken him to over 39 countries (and 49 US states) for both work and travel opportunities.
With his long-standing interest in the world of business and his entrepreneurial background, for Zach the choice of a major was clear and he enrolled in Quincy University's Business degree program in 2009. As a Division II baseball player, a semester abroad during the academic year was off the cards, but an opportunity for studying abroad arose thanks to Quincy’s President at the time, Dr. Robert Gervasi, who himself had studied in Rome and wanted to grant his students access to the same opportunity. The summer term offered at AUR was ideal for Zach, as he was able to study abroad without interrupting his sporting career at Quincy. He fondly recollects his Art History of Rome classes with their signature immersion in the historic city center: "We spent two days in the classroom, otherwise the class involved walking around the beautiful city of Rome and actually seeing the art that we were studying in the classroom".
The journey that unfolded following Zach’s summer studying in Rome shows that his study abroad experience sparked a real passion for international travel and adventure: following his graduation from Quincy University with a major in Business and a minor in Entrepreneurship, Zach crossed the country to begin working in southern California, then left the US once again to begin a job in Israel. This was followed by a lengthy backpacking trip that took him from the Middle East to Europe to South America over the course of a year. After his global adventure, Zach returned to Illinois before landing his dream job in the travel industry - a dream that had started in Rome at AUR.
The affinity for business and innovation that prompted Zach’s choice of major is clearly as strong as ever: alongside his position as Customer Development Specialist at Power Home Remodeling, and volunteering for the Dallas Stars Foundation, he launched his own consulting company – in the middle of the pandemic, no less. Having identified a gap in the market for travel companies that needed guidance with their online strategies including social media and email marketing, and, undaunted as most others would have been by the global situation, he launched Zach Klein Consulting.
We were delighed to hear two exciting updates for Zach since we interviewed him: he has been promoted to Team Leader at the Dallas office of Power Home Remodeling, and was invited to join the board of Millennials in Travel as National Manager of Philanthropy & Outreach. On the latter position, Zach wrote: "With the help of Millenials in Travel board members, we will be developing the philanthropic strategy for the organization including its national volunteering activities, liaising with chapters on localized philanthropy, integration within FAMs and supporting the academic/university sector of building relationships with those supporting the introduction of new talent into the industry".
Many thanks to Zach for taking the time to catch up with us, and we warmly congratulate him on his ongoing successes.