Germany, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, China and six more countries. Junior Aslee Addison has traveled to 13 countries, inspiring her to find a job overseas in her future.

“Every time I go somewhere new – you can read about it, hear about it, watch about it, but it’s not the same as getting off the plane or however you traveled there, and taking it all in,” Aslee said. “At home, not much changes, but there everything is different and that’s what I love about it.”

Aslee has been traveling since her elementary school years. Going to new places like Ecuador, Germany and China has always been a part of her life. With her family’s traveling history, she’s been surrounded by it for as long as she can remember. Her desire to work overseas was influenced by her interest in traveling.

“I went to Mexico when I was 5 years old, so pretty much my whole life I’ve been traveling,” Aslee said. “It’s a pretty big thing in my family. My aunt’s traveled, my paternal grandfather’s brother’s kids grew up in China, my maternal aunt has two children adopted from China. Traveling is instilled in my family.”

Aslee has devoted some of her school life to preparation for her future. She has taken Spanish since middle school and will continue to learn more through her entire high school career. While it was offered, she also took Mandarin Chinese. In her free time, she is teaching herself Korean and has attended summer camps to learn the language.

“She’s been able to experience a lot in the world,” Aslee’s father, Aaron Addison, said. “She has her own expectations and understanding of the world. She has the interest and drive to learn new languages, which will be a major asset to her.”

Aslee hopes to find a job in business or business psychology overseas after college. Whether she’s living in Asia or Ecuador in the future, according to Aslee, the language wouldn’t be the target of her life, it’d just be a part of her everyday lifestyle.

“I think traveling has helped me understand what quality of life I’d be living, and what kind of jobs you’d expect to find,” Aslee said. “I don’t have unrealistic expectations. I know I’m not going to have the dream job, but knowing how happy I am when I travel, I know I’m going to wake up every day and love my job.”