Speakers

Samantha personally understands what it feels to have study abroad plans interrupted. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal, Samantha was evacuated as part of a worldwide Peace Corps evaluation due to COVID-19 only 13 months into her 27 months of service. Samantha will discuss how to deal with reverse culture shock and not even in your own time frame. She’ll share what helped her cope and how she’s moved forward while not forgetting past experiences.

Summer began her experience abroad on a high school marine biology trip to the British Virgin Islands. After two weeks camping, studying and sailing around the islands, she never wanted to leave and vowed to return with her friends. That was the first of 20 years of experiences abroad she has never wanted to leave! Since that first inspirational journey, Summer has attended university, taught English, worked in a travel agency and led tours through Ecuador, Morocco, Turkey, Peru, Nicaragua, Cuba, Spain and Portugal. She has managed Operations for an adventure travel company in South America and now owns and operates her own tour companies both in Los Angeles and Morocco. Fluent in English, Spanish, French and Moroccan Arabic, Summer values language learning as the key to understanding, connecting with and positively impacting the world.

Tyler Riewer is the Creative Director at charity: water, the nonprofit bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in need around the world. He travels the globe to meet the people charity: water serves, collects stories about the transformative impact of clean water, and dreams up new ways to share those stories with the world. Since joining the organization in 2013, Tyler has been a driving force behind charity: water’s creative campaigns. Tyler is also the host of charity: water's exclusive video series, The Journey, in which he travels to different countries to show members of the organization's monthly giving program, The Spring, an up-close look at charity: water's work on the ground.

Prior to joining charity: water, Tyler spent nine years working in advertising where he created content for brands like Red Bull, Nike and A&E. A native Nebraskan, Tyler graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he studied Mass Communications, Advertising and English.

Ryan is a career Foreign Service Officer, currently serving in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in the Management Section. He previously worked as a consular officer in Guadalajara, Mexico. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ryan worked as a management consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, DC. Ryan will share his path to the Foreign Service, what life is like as an FSO and how the pandemic has impacted his life and work abroad.