A conversation with Amanda Whaley: Senior Director of Sales for EF Educational Tours

Can one trip change the course of your life forever? For Amanda, the answer is “yes”!

Amanda was first introduced to EF Education First via a trip she took in college; 15 years (and four offices later!), she is the Senior Director of Sales in our Austin, Texas office. We recently sat down with her to learn more about her career path and how EF has been the best company for her at every stage in her life.

Can you tell us a little bit about your career trajectory? Where did you start, and how did you get to where you are today?

I started my EF journey 15 years ago as a traveler in college— I wanted to go backpacking, but my friend really wanted to go with this travel company called EF Education First. I was against it at first, but then I looked at the itineraries and saw that it was all taken care of. So we went with EF. I loved it so much that I started researching internship opportunities—I applied and became an intern with EF when I was back on campus, selling trips to all my friends.

That winter break, I went to Boston for a week-long internship. They don’t offer these anymore, but at the time it was a way to get to know the company. I had so much fun that I extended my internship an extra week.

The following summer, I got a phone call to start as a Tour Consultant with EF Educational Tours. I hadn't even graduated from college yet, but I moved to Boston for the job. I would go to school before and after work and would fly back to Arkansas to take my exams. I remember flying back after our first Holiday party for my college graduation.

I was a Tour Consultant for three years before moving to EF High School Exchange Year. A year after that, I got a phone call from our President of High School Exchange Year who asked if I would move to Lucerne, Switzerland to start and run our Global Ambassador Program. I said “yes!” It was such a full circle moment to manage a program that helps students do exactly what I did in college as an ambassador for EF Educational Tours. I lived in Switzerland for 10 years and worked with EF first in Lucerne, then in Zurich. After a couple of years with our High School Exchange Year program, I moved to being a Director of Operations for EF Educational Tours, overseeing Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. This was a whole new adventure—and I loved it. I stayed for eight years and left as the Senior Director of Production overseeing all European production for Educational Tours.

From there, I went on maternity leave and had a beautiful baby girl. When I returned, I got a phone call to head back to my home state of Texas and head up our sales teams in Austin. And that’s where I am today!

What did you study in school? Is that related in any way to what you're doing today?

I studied Marketing—and after a year of taking those classes, I realized the ones that I liked the most were business, entrepreneurship, and operations. I graduated with a Bachelors in Marketing with a few other business electives. I really feel like the entrepreneurial spirit and the problem solving that I learned in my business classes I use every day here at EF.

Is there a specific moment or project that’s stood out as the most rewarding in your EF career?

My most rewarding moment in my EF career was when I got to move to Lucerne. I played soccer in college and couldn't study abroad, so living in a different country was always my dream. When I went over there, they said, “We want to build this global ambassador program for High School Exchange Year. Can you figure it out?” I got to do marketing, I got to do events. I got to do sales. I had to do operations, finance, and budgets. The project was amazing cause I felt like I got to run my own business inside this global company. In Switzerland of all places! It was really fun because I was 26 living in a new country and reporting to the Sales President, who was a role model for who I wanted to be—a leader, a mom, and a world traveler. She worked really, really, hard but balanced it all really, really well. And was such a great example at such a pivotal time for me.

It was a really big time, both personally and professionally— doing every aspect of the business for a couple of years, traveling 250 days a year, really getting to understand how other departments work. Even now, when we're working with other departments, I have a more empathy for the questions that they're asking and the things that they need to do and the work that they put into it. It was a great example of a holistic view.

Throughout your EF career, across multiple offices and divisions, what has kept you here?

What I love about EF and moving to different offices, different business units, and different departments, is I have been able to be myself, but also grow with the company. I remember as a Tour Consultant in the first couple of months of working at EF, I found out that our Sales President used to be Tour Consultant—and it just clicked in something in me that I could just be myself and work hard and that maybe I could be that too one day.

It feels like as I've grown up with EF. The company has also evolved, and so have the reasons why I'm at EF and the perks that come with working here. When I first started, I couldn't believe I could talk about travel all day and get paid for it. It was so cool. I moved to a state where I didn't know anyone and within a month, I felt like I had a whole community (and fast forward, they were all at my wedding!) So that was really amazing. I think what kept me there at the time was the fact that I was constantly being challenged—and more often than not, there wasn't a road map. I got to help figure it out.

In the last couple of years, especially as a new mom, it’s so important to be at a company where I know I'm valued and trusted. I'm now at the point where if I'm going to be away from my daughter and not at home, I want to be somewhere where I know I'm making a difference and I'm having fun—where I'm energized to go to work. I come home in a good mood, not grumpy. That is the most important thing to me and so I'm really lucky that I get to do that.

What does work-life balance mean to you? How have you been able to find that at EF?

Work life balance is very important all the time, but it's going to change. At the beginning of my career, I didn’t have much work-life balance, and I'm honestly happy I didn’t. My friends were my colleagues, and we would stay late—but we stayed late to hit goals and change the business. And those ended up being the connections that I met that actually ended up getting me opportunities in other EF divisions and departments.

So my advice (and I'm happy that I took it) is that it's okay if you are going to grind at the beginning. As long as you're doing it because you love it, it's fun, and you're learning and growing—just keep going. As life evolves and you might need a bit more balance or the engines need a break, EF has also been really great. Now my life has changed with having a husband and having a daughter. I now have something much more important outside of work. And that's where if I'm going to be at work away from my family, I need to love what I do. And it has helped me make better decisions.

Do you have a favorite work trip?

I have two. My first trip to South America, I got to go to Argentina and Uruguay and it was incredible. I felt like I came alive on that trip. We went to Iguazu Falls with all of our Group Leaders. And then I went to Chile and Brazil afterwards and it was just incredible. It was my first time being able to experience these cultures, and it just opened another gate in my life.

My other favorite opportunity was traveling on a loyalty tour to Northern Italy. I was living in Switzerland at the time so remember thinking “I wanted to go somewhere further!” But then I got there and met the other staff members on that trip. We became best friends—they were all at my wedding, and we’d have weekly Zoom wine chats between Switzerland and Denver. Little did I know that that trip wasn't actually about that destination—but I had four people in an office across the world that, six years later, are still some of my best friends.

If you had one piece of advice for to somebody who's considering a career at EF, what would you say to them?

Just do it. Starting a career—or even just taking a job—can be so scary. But it's also such a fun and exciting chapter. For me, it has been the most fun.

EF is a place where you don't have to know what you want to be when you grow up. You’ve just got to come and be yourself, have fun, work hard, and try new things. Just come as you are. What I love about working here, at any point in your career, is you can make a difference with your work. If you want to work hard, solve problems, talk about travel all day, or travel the world for work—come to EF. And I think that is what has kept me here in all the evolutions of Amanda in the last 15 years, is that I get to be myself and have fun every day. We have structure and processes to help you be efficient, innovative, and yourself. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that.