Kelly Lewis

Kelly Lewis
2008 Alumni
Major: Journalism
Minor: Creative Writing
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
                      Kailua, Hawaii
 
 
 
            Upon asking Kelly Lewis one of the basic interview questions, where she considers her hometown, she paused. That tiny moment in time when Lewis constructed her answer gave so much insight into the person to be discovered. Finally it was revealed that she was born in Tucson, Ariz. but grew up for a large portion of her life in Kailua, Hawaii. Lewis returned to Tucson and attended the University of Arizona as a journalism student all the while battling an innate desire to travel. While in school the opportunity to explore the world was somewhat  a mute point so after graduation she ventured into the unknown with friend Krissy Sauter. Upon visiting Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia, Lewis fell madly in love. That love story, like most these days, produced a child. Meet Kelly Lewis, mother of www.gogirlguides.com.
 
HC: After college what inspired you to create www.gogirlguides.com?
Lewis: After a graduation trip to Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia I fell in love with New Zealand. I came back to the states and sold everything I owned and moved there. I had a working holiday Visa so I worked in a hostile. I actually later got a job at a Lord of the Rings tour company. I was there for a year and had the time of my life. It was so empowering and I met a great group of people. Eventually my work visa ran out and I returned to the states and worked three or four jobs to save up enough money to go to South America. I had begun writing a travel blog during my travels in New Zealand and it picked up even more when I went to South America. After four months of being gone I came back and surprisingly got all of my old jobs back. I continued working a lot and saving a lot of money but this time there wasn’t a direct set goal in mind. In December I had this dream and in my dream I was looking at a travel go guide on Mexico and I remember thinking what a cool idea. What’s funny is in my dream I was so mad at myself for not thinking of it first. It wasn’t until the next day around noon that I was sitting in my tiny cubicle and remembered this dream and thought, “I have to do this.” From there I called a lawyer, got an accountant, etc. and finally got it up and running in January 2011. I am so blessed to have found amazing writers to be on our team. We released our first guidebook on Thailand in September 2011 but we have girls in Argentina, South Korea, Australia, etc.
 
 
HC: Why do you think it’s so important for girls to travel?
Lewis: I don’t care if I make a dime from this, I really don’t and so far I haven’t. I want to help women travel the world, show them it’s possible and give them the tools to help them do it safely and affordably. I think that travel teaches you fundamental lessons about life, generosity, the beauty of other human beings and ultimately about who you are. I have learned more through traveling about who I am as a person and it’s given me so much personal strength. The encounters i’ve had have been life altering. The places you visit are life changing but really it’s more the people you meet. Traveling alone as a woman forces you to look at who you are, what you want, and what the possibilities are for you. The first two months in New Zealand I was completely homesick, I questioned whether I was doing the right thing but I stuck it out and in the end that sense of accomplishment was so rewarding.
 
 
HC: Is there any reason the website is aimed at females?
Lewis: Yes. We are going for women who are just like us. Statistically our market is women between the ages of 18-35 but more-so women who like to get manicures at home but don’t mind getting their hands dirty building a house in Honduras. We are aimed at women who are adventurous and on a budget who want to see the world. We want women to have meaningful experiences while traveling and get to know a culture outside of just the tour bus. We strongly encourage women to volunteer, that’s big for us. Those are our girls, the woman that would never pay $300 dollars a night to stay in a hotel but would totally pay $300 dollars to go skydiving. I started this whole project because I was traveling on my own and there were no resources for people like me. I want to take sure that the places i’m staying are in a safe neighborhood (and i’m a pretty gutsy girl) and I haven’t gotten that from all of the other guidebooks. As women we also have so many additional health concerns. What if you get a urinary track infection, need tampons, get pregnant? We’re going to tell you how to deal with that. For the Thailand guidebook we interviews an OBGYN in Thailand and asked what are the common health conquers for travelers here, what things can we learn, and where are the women’s clinics in Thailand? If you need help, we’ve got the information ready to go. It is honestly so much common sense. I have to pinch myself sometimes, I can’t believe that it is 2011 and we are the first company to do this. There are thousands of women who are traveling and need resources like this and it didn’t exist, it frustrated us so we did something about it.
 
 
HC: What are your plans for the website?
Lewis: You start a business and it really becomes your full time job but at the moment there’s not enough income coming in to not do other jobs. I bartend, write, blog and pick up a lot of work to supplement this because it does cost a lot. At the same time, things are starting to pick up since the release of our Thailand guide book. I wanted to do Thailand as the first guidebook and continue to do an around the world series. We are now working on Argentina. I do have some bigger plans for the website but it is one step at a time right now. I’m watching a story unfold, everyday I get emails from people that I’ve hoped to connect with that have found me. We’re on the same wavelength and it’s been really cool watching it happen. Sometimes I get discouraged because it took me nine months to create this, by all standards it is my child. It’s almost like watching this thing you’ve created grow legs and start walking. I know how to do the publishing and the writing part. What’s challenging is the accounting and finance, that’s the learning curve for me. Again, everyday i’m encouraged. I got two emails today, one in India and one in Mexico who want to come on board, that kind of stuff happens everyday and I think it’s so cool that people are this supportive.
 
 
HC:What has been your favorite destination so far?
Lewis: That is so hard to say, it’s like asking who my favorite band is. Honestly, I loved Thailand. New Zealand will always have a place in my heart but I lived there, it’s such a beautiful country. With Thailand, I was there for two months and saw the ins and outs, the good and bad. It is also such a beautiful place and is so affordable so it is a great place to travel. Its a really tough call between the two. Every place i’ve been has such a special place in my heart because of the people i’ve met and the things i’ve done there.
 
 
Kelly Lewis is by no means your average person. This can be argued by the experiences archived in her young life; she’s worked with injured sea turtles in South America, backpacked solo for four months and created an innovative website based on a dream… just to name a few. However, these experiences, although obviously impressive, are hardly what sets Lewis apart. The girl who packed up her life to follow her passion, works plenty of jobs outside of running her own website, and does it all to help other women experience the world is what makes Lewis a campus celebrity, an inspiration, and a role model for women, entrepreneurs, and dreamers. Despite that Lewis was raised in Arizona and Hawaii, it is fair to say she has many homes and counting. HerCampus might be coming down with the travel bug but until jet setting is possible we’ll live vicariously through Kelly Lewis and her adventurous crew at www.gogirlguides.com.