From small town to big city: Andrew’s EF journey

Growing up in small-town Missouri, Andrew always longed to make his way to the big city. So when his college roommate decided to move to the East Coast and asked if he wanted to join, Andrew didn’t think twice. “I knew this was a huge opportunity to do something different,” Andrew explains matter-of-factly. “I put in my two weeks and took a leap of faith. I needed a change.”

The move to Boston was just the change Andrew was seeking, and not long after arriving he heard about an opportunity working in the Shipping and Logistics department at EF Education First. “When I came into EF to interview, the vibe was social and upbeat,” he remembers. “I love coming up with solutions to fast-moving issues. I had managed high volume and intensity needs before, so the role was a great fit.”

What does the Shipping and Logistics department do? Andrew and his team provide shipping and logistics services for all products that fall under the EF Education First family of companies in the Boston office. That could mean processing thousands of shipments a year or providing on-site assistance at trade shows and EF events.

The team is a testament to the scope of in-house opportunities a large-scale company can provide. Andrew will be the first to tell you, though, that prioritizing internal growth is about more than just convenience. “When we switched over to only printing in-house for some of our marketing materials, we became less wasteful on the day-to-day front,” he shares. “We eliminated a huge carbon footprint by working more closely to our project needs, and asking ourselves questions to make smarter, more efficient decisions.”

The critical thinking and fast-paced challenges his role affords are just a few of the many reasons why Andrew loves his job so much. “Being here has completely changed how I interact with others. It’s challenged me to be a more outgoing and social person,” he says. “This place has opened my eyes. It’s constantly surprising me.”

Case in point: just last summer Andrew was chatting with an Italian student at the EF Educational Tours Global Leadership Summit in Milan when he discovered that the student had actually spent time in Andrew’s hometown. “The student came up to me in this huge conference center to ask for directions. It turned out he was from Milan, but had spent a year living with a host family in Missouri during an EF High School Exchange Year,” he recalls. “It was this full circle moment; I’m halfway across the world connecting with someone from a completely different culture about my rural hometown in the middle of Missouri. I couldn’t believe it.”

It’s moments like these that are, unsurprisingly, not uncommon when you work at a company like EF. “Working here just makes you realize that the world is so small,” says Andrew. “And that we’re not so different, after all.”