Connect
To Top

Meet Katherine Vallera, World Traveler

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Vallera.

Katherine, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Ever since I can remember, I dreamed of traveling the world, but everyone else told me it would be impossible to pursue as a career. So instead, I pursued the second most impossible career, enrolling in a music program.

When it was time to graduate, I decided to stop listening to everyone else and start listening to my heart. So I accept a position to teach music in Bangkok. Concurrently, this happened during the early days of Facebook, not long after the “like” button was first introduced. I wasn’t very interested in photography at the time, but my friends encouraged me to post photos while traveling so they could share the experience and keep in touch.

Before I knew it, my photos were receiving a substantial number of “likes,” and my travels had unintentionally garnered a following! Before then, I hadn’t realized the potential for social media to inspire. Upon returning from my first trip around the world, I heard from countless individuals who said following my journey on Facebook inspired them to venture out on their own.

This, in turn, inspired me to keep traveling and creating media, developing my skills in writing, photography, and video production. Then, a travel agency in Chicago offered me a position, and I jumped at the opportunity to cross into this sector. It was a positive step for my career because it enabled me to be even more interactive in sharing my passion for travel and adventure.

While at this company, I learned the ropes of the tourism industry, even winning an award for being one of the “30 Under 30” emerging leaders in travel. Empowered with this knowledge and experience, I moved to Los Angeles and went independent with my business. This allowed the freedom to focus more on my niche, which is adventure travel and off the beaten path experiences.

Today, my work consists of customizing itineraries for my clients as well as creating digital media and freelance travel journalism.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not everything about my career has been sunshine and rainbows. I took a lot of risks, some of which panned out, others didn’t. My work has been stolen, undervalued, and grossly underpaid. The rat race is teeming with uninspired vultures eager to take advantage of innovative creators.

To this day, I struggle with financial hardship, living below the poverty line despite working 60-80hrs a week. Yet, every bump in the road has been of value so long as I moved forward having learned a lesson. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, [and] difficulty.”

That’s why my preference is to focus on everything that’s been positive while extending my sincerest gratitude to those who’ve supported me along the way! These trials and tribulations were just part of my journey. How many people can say they’re doing what they love?

We’d love to hear more about your business.
The role of ‘travel agent’ has changed significantly and continues to evolve as service-based industries adapt in the digital age. That’s why many travel agencies in operation today cater exclusively to the market for luxury travel and all-inclusive vacations. I’d been trained to sell this type of travel, myself.

Then, I realized my knowledge from living abroad and traveling over fifty countries was being wasted. That’s why I love being an entrepreneur, which has allowed me the freedom to focus more on adventure travel while also advocating for sustainable tourism.

Since starting my business, I’ve discovered a significant demand for this niche that most travel agents are either unable and/or unwilling to serve. That’s because planning this type of travel often requires twice as much work for half as much pay. Yet, I proceed onward because adventure travel is my passion. From the start, my mission has been to inspire others to travel and strive to explore new ideas, destinations, and experiences.

It’s with great optimism I’m committed to this segment of tourism because I find that my work is both enjoyable and fulfilling. I’m a firm believer in the power of travel as a method for discovery with the potential to pave a path towards world peace and greater understanding. While few obstacles exist for booking basic travel online, when plans get more complicated, it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed and at a loss for direction.

This is especially true when it comes to travel plans that visit multiple destinations. Figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B while piecing together multiple components from a myriad of reservations can be challenging to say the least, not to mention time-consuming! While some are discouraged by this juggling act, others don’t have the time that’s required to build complex itineraries. That’s where I come in!

My job is to organize these details – in essence, connecting the dots – to form one cohesive travel package I’m able to offer to my clients. It’s a service they love, and I love the challenge! Additionally, I take pride in encouraging youth and solo travelers. This is another market that’s all too often ignored. Sure, they don’t typically have the most money. Notwithstanding, what these travelers do have is the greatest need for my services!

I started out as a solo youth traveler myself, so I’m well aware of the potential for mishaps that may result while flying blind in this manner. Yet, traveling on my own is what first ignited my love for travel and thirst for adventure! Looking back, I can’t help but think what a benefit it’d have been to have had the guidance of a professional to me show the way.

That’s why I’m willing to invest my energy towards this sector in an effort to provide leadership for these up and coming adventurers.

What were you like growing up?
This may come as a surprise seeing that now I’m so normal and well adjusted, but I was a bit of an oddity growing up. My obsession was books, I just couldn’t get enough! In the second grade, I specifically recall reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Old Testament, and One Thousand and One Nights from cover to cover. My teacher found it hard to believe I was reading at this level because I tore through these stories rather quickly.

Meanwhile, I was struggling with my classes, especially math. Boy, did I ever hate learning math? They sent me to the administrative office for an IQ test, and I recall these events quite vividly. The walls were pale blue, the carpet was a hideous shade of pink, and the woman administering the test had big hair because it was the 90’s. I’ve been told these eidetic memories from my childhood are bizarre. I could draw a blueprint of the home where I spent the first years of my life, a place I haven’t seen since the age of three.

Why stop there, I could also paint a picture of the living room that belonged to our neighbors. They had a boy I used to play with; I can’t remember his name. I always forget names, along with most of my passwords, and I couldn’t tell you where my keys are right now if my life depended on it. Back to elementary school, where officials used my test to determine my intelligence was higher than 99.7% of the population.

As a result, they slapped me with the label of “genius” and placed me in a class for gifted students. Naturally, this did wonders for my social life. I got picked on so much at recess, the school eventually granted permission for me to spend this time in the library, instead. In the fourth grade, the internet arrived at our elementary school, and my life changed forever.

To me, the internet was like reading books but on steroids soaked in coffee brewed in a meth lab on the verge of bursting into flames. In the fifth grade, we got AOL, and there was no looking back. From there onward, much of my adolescence was spent combing the internet in search of new information, learning how to modify programs and digital media, while actively engaging in online communities and RPGs.

For those who don’t know, RPG stands for “role-playing game,” meaning much of my time was spent crafting story arcs for sci-fi characters in an online mirror universe along with other players. Adorned with thick eyeglasses and orthodontic headgear, there’s no denying I was the epitome of cool. All the while, my clashes with teachers intensified. It’s not that my test scores were poor. In fact, I scored better on my AP exam than the girl whose homework I’d copied all year. My academic output wasn’t bad, either.

In middle school, I completed my first novel on a DreamWriter (remember those?), which went on to win a Young Authors Award in my state. The conflict with my school was related to truancy. First of all, I have narcolepsy. Like most of my brain, I have a circadian rhythm that marches to the beat of its own drummer. Second of all, I hated the establishment at its core.

I loathed the mindless structure and social politics. I despised the forced obedience, bogus authority figures, and expectations to fall in line. To be honest, I’ve always found traditional education to be limiting. Instead, I thrive when given the freedom to work independently. To me, school was like a prison. I was confined to space where my intake of knowledge and output of creativity were constantly being controlled, supervised, and restricted.

Contrarily, whenever I was buried in books or surfing the internet, the world opened up to me. Come to think of it, this could explain my addiction to travel. It was the logical next step for me! In high school, I ditched P.E. so frequently my gym teacher tried to have me held back from graduation. She appealed to the administration, but her request was denied.

This decision was reportedly based on my otherwise high honor status, but I think it’s more likely they wanted me out. By then, my behavior had become a problem. What can I say, I have a tendency to poke at sleeping bears! Not only was I getting into a lot of trouble, I wasn’t responding to the disciplinary action. In truth, I liked detention. It was an opportunity to sit quietly and read undisturbed. Detention was also my ticket to different social circles, which facilitated some pretty interesting friendships.

Clearly, I’m an excellent role model based solely on these events that transpired over the course of the Bush/Clinton era. Now that my youth spent in the awkward juxtaposition between eccentric child prodigy and the rebellious punk hacker has been exposed; I can only hope the next person to interview me is able to dig up an equally embarrassing piece of narrative treasure.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in