My name is Amarone.  I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas until I was 10 years old.  Then my family and I made the day long trip to Arizona, by car.  Arizona became my second home and the contrast was extreme.  The endless plains and four seasons were replaced by the desert and what seems to be summer all year round.  I excelled in junior high and adapted to the extreme heat.

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    I went to high school in Phoenix and graduated in the top 11 percent of my class.  I worked extremely hard to reach the top 10 percent, but didn’t make it, but I was happy knowing that I did the best I could.  I submitted my application to many universities as a senior.  I applied to the University of Arizona, Washington State University, and Oregon State University to name just a few.  In the end, I decided to attend Arizona State University for many factors.
    As a freshman, I was majoring in Kinesiology and I also lived in the residential halls.  After a couple moves, I ended up at Palo Verde West, which is at the Tempe Campus.  Living on campus was one of the best decisions I made in my college career thus far.  I had an understanding of what “university life” was all about.  I made the connections with student life and academic life.  As a sophomore, I moved off campus with people I met living on campus, and it was another learning experience. 
    I changed my major to biology and then to journalism and mass communications the next 2 years.  In the fall of ’06, I knew I wanted to study abroad.  I was torn between France and Australia.  After many sleepless nights, I made the choice to go with Australia.  The application process was lengthy and competitive.  I fought for 2 exchange spots at Macquaurie University in Sydney, Australia.  In the end, I got one of those spots.  The next thing you know, I on an airplane heading to Australia.  It was the first time out of the country.  The next six months were both challenging, yet life changing.  I was exposed to a culture immersed in tourism.  I have never been a place with so much diversity and tourists.  I felt excited, comfortable, and anxious to explore.  After my studies in Sydney, I knew I had to be a part of tourism.  Anything that deals with tourism would make me truly happy. 
    When I came back to the U.S., I was a bit miserable.  I was used to a different lifestyle that seemed too perfect, in Australia.  I had to readjust to life back in Arizona.  It took me a few weeks, but I was able to get back to the swing of things.  During the summer, I took and entrepreneurship course at the University of Arizona with the Dorrance Program.  It was a crash course in business.  I had no prior knowledge in business.  Afterwards, I obtained a position as a Reservation Sales Associate at the Royal Palms Resort & Spa.  This was the first time I was able to get experience in tourism industry. 
    In the fall of ’07, I transferred to the Downtown Campus because the College of Public Programs relocated to that campus about a year prior.  I was officially a Tourism Development & Management major.  I was anxious to start taking courses in tourism.  I never had a semester where I can honestly say I enjoyed every single one of my classes.  The courses I took were International Tourism, Inclusive Community Development, Special Events Management, Wilderness Parks in America, and Community Resources and Services. 
    What I missed most was traveling.  If I were to wonder off in class, it was because I was thinking of where I wanted to visit next.  Traveling is my passion.  A great opportunity then came up.  The School of Community Resource and Development had a winter study abroad program on a cruise ship, in the Caribbean.  It was an opportunity of a lifetime.  I did not know much about the cruise line industry and at the same time, the Caribbean.  It was a win-win situation.  I went to the pre-departure meetings and signed up immediately.  Before you know it, this past January, I was on a cruise ship and on my way to the Caribbean.  It was a trip of a lifetime.  Now that I have 2 semesters left, I am still thinking of where I could go this summer. 
    What are my future goals?  I have many.  I would love to work on a cruise ship as a Cruise Director.  Also, I would like to be a flight attendant.  Ideally, I would like to be a director of a World Museum.  I tell myself, you can do anything you put your heart into.  I am passionate about all of these things and I do see myself working in the tourism industry for the rest of my life.