Why We Created A Youth Travel Media Internship Program and How You Can Support.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
By Leroy Adams
Editorial and Media Director, Culture Travels Media
My first time abroad was to study in Taiwan.
Seven days until the deadline, and I was a thousand dollars short.
I couldn't believe my dream of studying abroad was about to slip through my fingers. There I was, standing in my professor's office as he told me my chances of studying in Taiwan hinged on my ability to raise $1,000 in one week. I had already scraped together $4,000 while working two jobs to pay for tuition.
What followed was a month of overtime shifts, ramen noodles for every meal, tears I tried to hide, and my mother mobilizing our entire family to help me get there. With one week to spare, I submitted my final payment.
That moment changed everything.
Exchanging shirts of our favorite NBA teams with our pen pals.
Studying abroad in Taiwan rewired how I saw myself in the world and my potential within it. Since then, I've served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia, lived and worked in China as a teacher and business owner (my mom's first time leaving the country was to visit me there), and traveled to more than 40 countries. I've advised the U.S. State Department on Africa and Diasporic relations in Madrid, Spain, and been invited twice to participate in an Editor's Roundtable with Travel Weekly—one of the most respected travel publications in the world—first in Scotland, and next month, in Morocco.
But here's what those experiences taught me: I almost didn't get to have any of them.
Why We Created This Program
Young people will tell you there are three main barriers to study abroad and international opportunities:
Funding – Most can't afford the upfront costs
Access – They don't know these opportunities exist
Awareness – They've never seen someone who looks like them do it
My first day as a Peace Corps teacher with my students in Ethiopia.
I started Culture Travels Media because of what travel showed me about myself.
In China, a student licked my arm because she thought I was made of chocolate. In Ethiopia, I built classrooms and was mistaken for Lil Wayne. In South Africa, I had Christmas dinner in an Ambassador's home. These experiences—the challenging and the beautiful—taught me that I held a greater purpose in this world: to tell stories. Whatever limits placed on my potential were replaced by endless possibilities.
Now, I want to give the next generation that same feeling of hope and possibility.
What We're Building
The Content Queens Social Media Program.
We've partnered with The Lemonade Circle, a San Antonio-based non-profit, to launch the Youth Travel Media Internship Program—a direct solution to the barriers of funding, access, and awareness.
Through this program, graduates of The Lemonade Circle’s Social Media training work with Culture Travels on real-world projects like:
Telling Harriet Tubman's story in Auburn, New York
Producing our travel cooking show, Flavors of Travel
Interviewing legends like Sheryl Underwood for our podcast
Covering Black history and culture during our Soulful Experience riverboat cruise through the Netherlands and Belgium
Interviewing a descendent of Harriet Tubman in Auburn in front of Harriet’s church home.
This year, our interns will gain industry experience in:
Destination press trips, like this.
Marketing campaigns in other countries or their community.
Show Production on cooking shows like this.
They will learn photography, videography, editing, and campaign execution while expanding their sense of what's possible.
How You Can Support
We offer individual annual subscriptions for $75, which include 4 issues of the magazine and a branded tote bag, or single-issue purchases for $20. For businesses interested in supporting our youth internship program, please contact us here.
