I’m Renae, and I’m passionate about fostering connections between cultures. When I was growing up in western Michigan, I lived in a fairly sheltered, homogenous community. But when I was in high school, I somehow knew that I wanted to travel and learn about the world. I didn’t know why or how yet. After college, I got a wild idea to work in South Korea teaching English to kids. That year was transformative for me. I had adventures in cross-cultural communication daily. Each weekend I got to explore Seoul and learn about its history and people. I made Korean friends. I studied Korean language and became the person that always placed the order at the restaurant for the friend group. This all seems positive, but there were hurtful and difficult experiences, too. Coming home was shocking. I had to re-examine who I was after a deeply significant cultural experience. My values were shifting. Over the years, I gained more cross-cultural experience while working with refugees and international colleagues. Everywhere I worked, I brought an international perspective.

Now, I have a small business named Beyond Tourism. My business provides travel advisor services for individuals who want a culturally immersive international experience, along with cultural training services for those who want to have human-to-human connections across cultural lines. Beyond Tourism is for individuals who know that deeply connecting with a person from another culture can change the world.