When you’re a travel agent post-graduation, traveling is part of your job description. It’s one descriptor Ball State alumna Lucia Borgmann can’t get enough of.
“Just picture me with a huge grin on my face, wheeling my luggage down the streets of Vancouver passing food trucks, skyscrapers, bars and foreign restaurants to get to my hotel on Robson Street,” she said, describing a recent trip to Canada.
Borgmann majored in geography with a focus on travel and tourism and minored in anthropology. Since graduating, she has started working for Great Destinations, a Muncie travel agency, and started a travel blog to share her adventures, “Wanderlust Lucia.”
Her inspiration to be a travel agent came from her mother, who was also a travel agent, as well as her studies at Ball State.
“I know that my career will always be in the travel industry, so I figured a travel blog was a good way to practice my writing and also tell stories about my travels and what it is like to be a travel agent,” Borgmann said.
Borgmann’s blog has been more successful than she imagined it would be — but the time and effort required to make it successful have been a hurdle to keep up with, she said.
“For a travel blog post to be successful or notable, you have to post three times a week. On top of working at a desk all day and writing, this has honestly been a struggle and something I know I will have to work on,” Borgmann said.
The inspiration for her travel blog came from her desire to showcase all of the great things Muncie has to offer, Borgmann said.
Ranging from a post about Howth, Ireland, to all of the hot spots in Muncie, her blog is captivating the highlights of having the travel bug.
“I see it [Muncie] struggle with its socioeconomic issues and college living, so I wanted to put those myths that Muncie doesn’t have anything to do to rest,” Borgmann said. “For me, this job and travel blog are not about the photos taken or marking countries off a list … it is the sights, smells, sounds and people that make a destination truly remarkable.”
Borgmann came to work with Great Destinations after a one-hour job shadow for an introductory class, and later after completing an internship with them as part of a degree requirement.
After she completed her internship, Borgmann worked as support staff, which is the equivalent to a receptionist, and after a year began working as a full-time travel agent.
Great Destinations, a full-service travel agency, started in 1952. Their goal is to serve the community of East Central Indiana. The agency’s president, Julia Wadsworth, welcomes students to become involved with Great Destinations.
“It is our hope that the Ball State students that major in travel and tourism will be exposed in our office to the many varied careers that can come from studying travel and tourism,” she said.
Wadsworth couldn’t agree more that the travel industry is a career that excites and opens up doors someone could never imagine.
“The most exciting part of being a travel agent is to be able to help people explore the world and explore the world in the way they want to explore it,” Wadsworth said. “Every time you pick up the phone you have no idea who's on the other end or where they want to go. It takes a broad knowledge of the world, a broad knowledge of our industry to be able to be a good retail travel agent.”
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