Danny SchiffInterviewed in 2019

Danny grew up on the beaches of Florida, earning his degree in education from the University of Florida, and spending his weekends surfing and training for triathlons. Danny has led 23 programs over 14 summers with Westcoast Connection. When he isn’t building homes with Habitat for Humanity in Maui, surfing waves in Costa Rica, or hiking Machu Picchu during the summer, he teaches math, runs trails, snowboards, and speaks Italian at a boarding school in Switzerland. Danny finds it too difficult to choose his favorite part of a program – the family-like groups he helps to form, the life-changing service projects or the outdoor activities. He brings a special energy to every program he directs and allows each and every one of his trip members to leave with a unique appreciation for the destinations they have visited and the people they have met.

What inspired you to work for Westcoast Connection?

At teachers’ college, a classmate told me about spending her summer hiking, rafting, and surfing on a California and the Canyons trip with Westcoast Connection, and I couldn’t believe that a job like that actually existed. I applied immediately and flew out to California that summer for my first trip as a staff.

Why do you do what you do?

I really love facilitating travel experiences, doing service projects, and exploring the outdoors with teenagers. I know how important those opportunities were in my personal development, and I love that I get to play a part in them getting to experience the same transformations at such an impressionable age.  

What is your favorite part of your job?

I love that no two days are the same. I have really learned to expect the unexpected, and thrive off of creating a memorable experience for our trip members while dealing with any challenges which arise. Much of what we do is fairly typical work; accounting, reports, phone calls, but when you get to do those jobs in Peru, New Zealand, or Thailand, it is so exciting and dynamic!

How do you use your education and international background in your current role?

Being a full time teacher, I am used to working with teenagers, but to get to travel alongside one another rather than be in the classroom teaching is such a pleasure. There are no grades or report cards, just the opportunity to really help these teens have the summer of their lives is very exciting. 

What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?

I learned from a teacher to prioritize doing what you love for work, and I try to share that with my trip members. I have already had several students come back to Westcoast Connection as staff and trip directors, which is a great thrill to think that I played a role in their life plans, even if just for a few summers.

What makes Westcoast Connection special?

It might sound cliche to say, but the community is what has kept me coming back for over a decade, which is hard to do with a company that runs nearly one hundred trips at the same time all around the world. The friends I’ve made on my trips or at the twice annual staff trainings are some of my best friends. The company is filled with adventurous, generous, amazing people who elevate me to do my best work and to truly appreciate how lucky I am to do what I love for a living.

What makes Westcoast Connection easy to market to potential participants?

Working on many service trips with Westcoast Connection, the trips are designed to both impact our local partners while enhancing the experience of our travelers. Westcoast Connection always seeks feedback on how they can improve partnerships and really have a lasting impact in communities by returning year after year.

What do you hope participants take away from Westcoast Connection programs?

I tell my trip members every year that I hope they leave their trips prepared to have their own travel experiences. Most of our trip members will be going to university a few years later, and I hope that they have learned the independence required to make new friends, look out for themselves, and then to hopefully study abroad at some point.

What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?

Trip members are always anxious to hear stories from different parts of the world where I’ve led trips. They want to know how their trip compares and where I would recommend them to travel to next. I love giving travel advice, especially to teenagers who are so eager to have their own experiences as they make decisions about university, fields of study, and jobs in their near futures.

Why do you think learning a new language is important?

Even though the food or language in a new country can be different from what we’re used to, I think that fully immersing ourselves in the culture of the country we’re traveling in helps enhance our experiences.

While I was in Vietnam last summer with Westcoast Connection, the trip members began to miss western food, but I assured them that pizza and burritos would be awaiting us when we return. I told them not to miss out on the opportunity of eating local, authentic, Vietnamese cuisine while they could.

Picking up even the most basic of language phrases while traveling helps show locals that we’re trying to learn and immerse ourselves in their culture rather than just expecting them to speak only in English to us. 

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

To me, travel is about figuring out what your priorities are. With Westcoast Connection, I know the meticulous planning that goes into the itinerary, activities, and service partnerships. These are my priorities while traveling, and the things I want to focus my own personal trips around, which lines up with Westcoast Connection’s values. I am always amazed by the diversity and quality of things we are lucky enough to do on our trips. The stories and pictures we return home with are numerous.

What hopes do you have for the future of international education?

I hope that as many students as possible get to have a global service experience, which will help impact how they see the world, and to appreciate everything we are lucky enough to have in Western society. I hope that all across the world, we will continue to celebrate our similarities and embrace our differences from one another.

What qualities in program & host community relations are important to Westcoast Connection?

I think the fact that we return to the same partners trip after trip and year after year, means that we have ongoing connections with local communities across the world. Thanks to these connections we get to focus our service and travel around what is mutually beneficial for both parties. We want to know that the impact we’re having on our service partners is as meaningful as possible.

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