I read the schedule of presentations I was doing and then noticed something foreign on the list – “Office Hours.” I –  the woman who left the office 7 ½ years ago – was going to have office hours. Well, this was a strange twist in my ever-evolving life.

It was the last day of my 5-week hike on the Camino in 2012 when I received a letter from Mark saying I was chosen as the Iolani School Keables Chair for 2014. I read the email, stunned, and excitement slowly crept over me. It wasn’t until five weeks ago that Mark told me that he had submitted my application to the committee that had chosen the chair. At that time, he also told me that someone had submitted an application for Garrison Keillor, and upon hearing that, I sort of stopped dreaming about the possibility of actually being the Keables Chair. Really – how was I going to compete with Garrison Keillor? However, in my heart of hearts, I knew that I could probably be infinitely more relatable to kids/students than him.

Somehow I beat out Mr. Keillor – I’d like to believe it was due to the fact that I was better qualified – however I don’t kid myself to also believe that he might have been already booked up. I would like to tell myself the first story, though.

I had a lot of waiting from 2012 to 2014 – but the time is finally here. From January 27th to February 7th, I will be working ‘in residence’ at Iolani School in Honolulu as the Keables Chair. The Keables Chair is an endowed teaching position that annually brings outstanding teachers, writers, and artists to Iolani School. Iolani is a prestigious private school in Honolulu for grades K – 12. I’ll be visiting classrooms, sharing experiences, and doing presentations on the following:

Non-Fiction Creative Writing
Photography
Geography
World Religion
Yearbook
Entrepreneurship
Women in Literature
Earth Sciences

In addition to classroom visits, I’ll be doing auditorium addresses for grades 6 – 12, speaking to teachers, and holding ‘office hours’. I will also be presenting publically in Honolulu on the topic of Taking Your Vacation to the Next Level. If you are in Hawaii, I invite you to attend! (more info below)

Outstanding Teachers, Writers, and Artists

It’s so strange as I’ve never really considered myself an artist or even a writer – yet clearly, I do know those titles are how I make a living now. I’ve just always considered my current ‘career’ as doing something I love, living life, taking risks, and not conforming. It’s a means to an end – I write/blog/photograph so that I can keep seeing the world and hopefully influence others to do the same. So, this residency as an honorary teacher/writer/artist is a bit hard for me to swallow at times, but like anything in my life, I love the challenge.

Changing Lives? – Maybe Changing Perspectives? – Hopefully.

I adore speaking at schools, it’s so much fun to think that maybe just maybe I might be influencing a child to make travel a part of their life or education – or to simply break free of the standard path of what we think we should do makes my heart all a flutter. My goal is simply to provide them with another perspective on how life has to be lived and get them excited about seeing the world.

When I left my old career in 2006, never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted my path, and this new twist of teaching (even though it’s short lived) is yet another surprise in my journey through life. The most important thing to me is the work I do is meaningful to others – that it touches them in some way or makes them think. It opens up the world of possibility for them. Whether it’s kids or adults – it doesn’t matter to me.

I’m putting my travel blogging on hold for a couple of weeks as I’m busy trying to dig out presentable business-worthy outfits out of my storage and taking off for Honolulu for a few weeks. There is one thing for certain – I will come back with lots of stories to share.

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If you are in the Hawaiian Islands – then I invite you to join me for my public presentation on Feb. 4th at 7PM in Seto Hall on the Iolani School Campus where I will be talking about ‘traveling close to the ground’.

Take your Travel to the Next Level

Do you dream of traveling the world? Or simply taking more meaningful vacations? Sherry Ott will discuss how to move from taking vacations as a typical tourist to finding more meaningful travel around the globe. Learn how to travel ‘close to the ground’ and find authentic experiences that connect you with locals and the culture and ultimately spend less money.