A culture of kindness: Bev’s EF journey

Kristen, or Bev as she’s known by her colleagues across the office, began her journey with EF Education First in 1993 as a Tour Consultant for EF Educational Tours. 

Introduced to EF by a friend, a 23-year-old Bev faxed her resume over and came to interview at the then One Memorial Drive location in Boston. 

When she arrived she was awestruck by the people and the positivity that exuded from EF staff all around her. “It felt like an extension of college! I am still best friends with my start group. We grew up together at EF,” she said.  

And that was just the beginning of Bev’s several year long stretch with Educational Tours where she not only grew her career but her exposure to the world. 

“I never traveled internationally before EF,” Bev said. “So to have my passport overflowing with 20 countries before I turned 30 was simply incredible.”

But when Bev was ready to start a family in 2000, she took a step away from EF for nearly two decades. During those 17 years she raised her kids, started (and ran) her own event planning business and worked for two other companies doing sales. 

It wasn’t until Bev’s son left for college that something clicked. There was no question where she would go when she was ready to return to full-time work. 

“EF shaped me personally and professionally,” she said. “The only company I could see myself happy, challenged and fulfilled at was EF. The caliber, energy and can-do attitude of this mission-based company have not changed over the past 27 years. If anything – it’s only gotten better!”

Today, Bev leads her own team of passionate Tour Consultants as a Director of Sales for Educational Tours at EF’s North American headquarters in Boston. Together, Bev and her team get students and teachers out of the classroom and into the world.

“We truly change the trajectory of students’ lives,” she explained. “We believe that we are making a positive impact on society. We create a global classroom to have students become global citizens––they have a better understanding of different countries, they are empathetic, more appreciative of diversity and of different cultures.”

With Bev’s work ethic and commitment to the EF mission aside, if you ask her what she’s most proud of, she’ll tell you one thing: her team. 

“I work with an incredible team who give their positive energy, passion, and can-do attitude each and every day,” she said. “Watching my team succeed has been the most rewarding part of my job. The professional and personal development I have witnessed from when a Tour Consultant starts to when they are promoted to a Senior Tour Consultant is astounding.” 

Having worked at EF (twice) and for different companies, Bev knows a good thing when she sees it and wants other people to understand that EF’s supportive culture is a rarity.  

 “Even people who come to interview wonder if there’s something in the air because we’re all smiling and laughing. We all work really, really hard but we want to work harder because of the type of environment we’ve been offered,” she explained.  

Bev’s return proved to be a great decision and in her own words makes her EF’s “oldest and proudest boomerang.” 

“The culture and caliber of the company are exactly the same from 27 years ago,” she said. “It energizes me every day to be working in this environment. Even if things are difficult, you have support from your colleagues, with energy and positivity coming in.”