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“Life is a Journey”…a tutelage of the wise. Why not apply this to the workplace?
Upon embarking on what would turn into a role that has opened doors of opportunity beyond imagination for hundreds of eager college students, learning what impact cultural exchange within the workplace can make has become paramount in our corner of hospitality industry at Boucher Brothers.
Boucher Brothers Management is a recreation hospitality company specializing in beach, pool, watersports, team building and outdoor food and beverage guest experiences. BBM proudly operates in South Florida, Virginia Beach, and Southern California.
As many colleagues within the industry would be willing to attest to, staffing is the ever on-going challenge of field. To create amazing guest experiences, an organization must rely on its people to create the “magic”. And people can be hard to find.
Enter the Work and Travel Program- a seasonal visa program run through the US State Department, offered to full time university students from around the world to travel to the US and fulfill staffing needs for employers over the duration of their student summer break (17 weeks).
Boucher Brothers has been a Work and Travel Host Employer for well over a decade, but has recently begun expanding the program to offer more students the opportunity to grow their resume, experience incredible cultural immersion, and share their home culture with American workers as they perform tasks side by side
Boucher Brothers has been a Work and Travel Host Employer for well over a decade, but has recently begun expanding the program to offer more students the opportunity to grow their resume, experience incredible cultural immersion, and share their home culture with American workers as they perform tasks side by side.
According to Bridge USA, the total number of summer seasonal W & T employees in 2022 was 92,619. The vetting process on both ends, student and employer, is nothing short of grueling- but all in the name of a positive exchange experience for both parties.
Megan Gunta has relied, as former General Manager of BBM in Miami Beach and COO of Virginia Beach, heavily on this program over the last decade. However, as program controls became more restrictive and demanding each year since the pandemic, she has taken the reigns on the leadership of the program as Director of International Recruitment within BBM and has worked to help its placement numbers increase.
Traveling to Slovakia, Romania and the Dominican Republic to attend in-person hiring events as well has hosting hundreds of online interviews, Megan has helped BBM offer up to 32 students per season a place to live, work, and most importantly, learn. The skills acquired by exchange visitors working at BBM apply to not only their degree as intern hour requirements but also to their future job endeavors and personal life. These skills include business and hospitality strategies following Forbes standardstraining, business and industry acumen, ability to manage a POS system and broadened awareness of the complete leisure guest experience.
Megan believes that not only is this program and experience helping students excel in their studies and future job searches, she also bears witness to the lives of the students as they are forming life-long friendships, learning how to survive across the globe from their home, and fully embracing the English language.
The goal for BBM is to continue to invest in the leaders of the future as we strive to expand the current program to include J1 visa trainee/interns, a year-long program catering to recent university graduates.
Life is a Journey- and at Boucher Brothers, we are happy to be a part of it.
