Rob and I just got back into town last night from what I believe is our last traveling of the school year! In all of the traveling I've done this year and all of the Phi Kappa Theta members I've met with, the most common questions I get are about the traveling we do. Members want to know how often we actually travel, how many chapters we see, what its like to have a job like this, etc. So coming fresh off of two colony visits and being grounded for a few months, I thought this would be an interesting post.
To start with a Phi Kappa Theta travel review, I did some quick math on our travel stats for the year. Many of our events did have multiple staff members attend, but for ease I only counted mileage one time. While we have a larger staff, the traveling staff consists of myself, Rob, and Anita, so these miles are between just the 3 of us. Miles traveled from August 1 to today.
Fraternity Conferences (Convention, PA, Regionals): 1,298 miles
Chapter/Colony Visits: 15,897 miles
Misc (Board meetings, Professional conferences, etc) 9,453 miles
Total miles traveled since August: 26,648 miles
Chapters seen : 17
States visited: 10
These definitely aren't exact numbers. I did some estimates as it would've taken me much longer to do a true total. But hopefully it gives a view of what it looks like for us here in the office. The summer is typical quieter, though I think most of us have at least one conference travel this summer before LI in St. Louis!
I also get asked a lot about what it's like to be able to travel for work, usually from members who career wise are curious what it would be like. The Phi Kap staff doesn't travel constantly. Average is once or twice a month per traveling staff member depending on whats going on and we do our darndest to get the most out of each trip (multiple chapters during a trip). But my quick answer to members who ask...is that it is really cool to travel! We get to see different cities and campuses, we get to meet people all over the country and I have fun stories from almost every trip. I feel lucky to get to experience the country in a different way than many and wouldn't trade it for anything! However members who are considering jobs with traveling components also need to understand that it isn't always great. It can get lonely and it can be hard to miss events at home that are going on. You see a lot of hotel rooms and airports and don't always get to explore the city you are in. And believe it or not, you do get sick of eating out.
I hope that answered the questions that I always get. Happy travels for anyone who is, and I look forward to seeing new chapters and new places during the next school year!
