Originally from North Tonawanda, New York, Steph has worked as a social media strategist and content creator in the field of study abroad for more than 12 years. She believes in the power of storytelling and—though she dislikes clichés—that studying abroad truly can be life-changing, awe-inspiring, and a pathway toward the appreciation of different perspectives.
Steph studied journalism and business marketing at SUNY Fredonia where she spent a semester in London. She returned to London after graduating and held roles interviewing street artists, writing for an arts and culture magazine, marketing for an independent art gallery, and running a distance learning program for international students, before settling into study abroad. After 16 years in London, she moved to Spain where she currently works remotely from the Canary Islands. Steph also lived in a tiny Colombian village for six months where she helped with the harvest of giant ants and learned to carve jewelry from guadua and weave bags from fique, among other adventures. Adapting to different cultures and lifestyles has helped Steph empathize with and understand the experiences of students who work with her.
Steph spends her free time with her two kids and husband, exploring her island home, improving her Spanish, baking, reading, drinking tea, and traveling whenever possible.
A Fun Fact About Steph:
I love photography and always have my camera with me when I travel. I sell prints on Etsy and have had three exhibitions in London. I also embroider on my photography prints.
Steph’s Favorite Travel Memory:
On two separate occasions, my dad and I have gone to pick olives together in Greece–the first time to Kardamyli, and the second time to the island of Kythira. We worked in the groves raking olives from gnarled trees that were hundreds of years old, sorted them by hand, took them to the mill to watch as they were transformed into olive oil, and then shared slices of freshly-baked bread drizzled with our own olive oil directly from the spigot. We visited both modern and traditional olive mills and learned a lot about the olive oil industry.