Living in service of others
WORK life balance?” Siobhan
laughs. “I’m not the person
to ask. Until a few months
ago I started my day at 05h00 in the
morning and finished it at 24h00.
I don’t know if you can call that
balanced!”
At 35, Siobhan prides herself on
living her life in service of others.
“I believe if you give now, you will
gain in the future. I spend my hours
in service of my clients, my foster
children, my rescue animals, and the
broader community.”
Initially, Siobhan studied Education
and Psychology at the University of
the Witwatersrand before realising
that it wasn’t the career for her. “As
much as I loved education, I didn’t
want to teach in South Africa. I then
stumbled across a vacancy at Flight
Centre and the travel bug bit me.”
Siobhan was at Flight Centre from
the end of 2004 until November
2008. She was promoted to team
leader in 2006, before becoming a
product development manager
in 2007.
“If it wasn’t for Flight Centre, I
wouldn’t be where I am today. It was
like a crash course in travel. I was
thrown in at the deep end and it was
a case of ‘sink, or swim’. It helped
me to grow up very quickly, learn
to problem solve and I developed
a lot of confidence. It was also
a lot of fun! It was a non-stop
environment where you worked hard
and partied harder. It was great for
someone in their 20s. Working as a
product development manager also
cemented my expertise in Galileo,
airline rules, and fares.”
However, when it came time
for Siobhan to settle down she
recognised the need for a slower
pace of life and more flexibility.
“André and I got married in 2008
and wanted to have kids straight
away. Both our mothers had been at
home with us as kids, and this was
something we really wanted for our
children. Travel Counsellors offers
the opportunity to manage your own
time and work from home. I jumped
at the opportunity.”
Siobhan and André started dating
when she was just 14. “I was living
in Pomona, Kempton Park, and
André was one of the ‘bad boys’
from the neighbourhood. Initially I
dated my well-behaved neighbour
but then I decided that the boys
who smoked Camel cigarettes and
rode motorbikes were far more
interesting. I started hanging out
with them and met André. We
didn’t click until one of his friends
cancelled on me at the last minute
for a school dance. André stepped
in to save the day and we’ve been
together ever since.”
When the couple discovered
that they couldn’t have
children they were devastated.
“Going through a journey
of infertility is one of the
hardest things I have ever
had to do, but we made
it through together.” They
decided to foster children
instead. “We both grew
up in beautiful families. We
thought that if we could
improve the life of a foster
child by giving them even
one day in our home, it
was worth doing.”
Siobhan has since fostered 20
children, two of whom she is in the
process of adopting. “The first child
I fostered was my son, Valentino, he
came to us at six months and he’s
now seven. My daughter, Ashley,
arrived at six weeks and just 2,9kg.
She’s now four.”
“It blows my mind that there are so
many broken families in this country.
I believe that as humans it is our
duty to heal from our trauma, while
simultaneously helping others to do
the same.
“Becoming a foster parent was
one way I could do this.” Siobhan
has also completed an Honours in
Psychology, which help her in caring
for her foster children.
In order to overcome her pain
at not being able to experience
pregnancy, Siobhan qualified as
a doula, which is a non-medical
person supports women before,
during, or after childbirth. She spent
evenings and weekends assisting
mothers in childbirth at the Far
East Rand Hospital Maternity Ward
(a government-run facility). “You’re
working with women who are scared,
often alone, and without provisions.
The hospital itself couldn’t always
provide even the basics for the
babies. Some went without socks!”
So, Siobhan started putting together
care packages for the new-borns.
Siobhan is also an animal lover.
“I regularly volunteer at Kitty and
Puppy Haven. I aim to be a voice for
the voiceless as much as possible.
I have adopted seven dogs and
absolutely love them! I couldn’t
imagine my life without them.”
“I aim to live a life of virtue and
to always turn mountains into
molehills,” she says. One should
never give up. Let’s be honest –
the challenges life throws at us
are hard, but that’s no reason
not to push through. Whenever
you want to complain, stop and
think of a positive action you could
take instead.”
Siobhan’s advice to younger agents
is that the travel industry is not just
about money. “Customer service
is an absolute imperative. You are
selling an experience and how you
serve your customer is 100% a part
of that experience. Don’t be hungry
for money at the expense of that
experience. It’s not a sustainable
approach.”
Getting to know Siobhan
Siobhan’s biggest goal is to
successfully adopt her two
children, Valentino and Ashley.
She is currently in the final
stages of this process.
Her drive to do well in her
career comes from her
competitive nature. She
doesn’t like to be second best.
However, she does it for her
personal satisfaction. She
dislikes being recognised in
front of others – something that
made this interview challenging
for her.
In recent months she has
started taking her health
seriously. She trains with a
biokineticist three times a week
and focuses on eating a healthy
diet.
The best travel experience
she has had was when Travel
Counsellors hosted the Goldawarded
agents at the Bahia
del Duque resort on Tenerife’
Island in 2015. She says the
views were spectacular.
She has travelled a lot over
the course of her career, but
never to Bora Bora – her dream
destination. She would love
to go there, because it’s in
the middle of nowhere and
challenging to get to! She
describes it as being the
perfect place for some quality
alone-time.
It’s important to her that she
gets to know her clients on a
personal level and that they
become friends where possible.
She has roped many of them
into her charity work over the
years. She considers her
clients a part of her community
and believes in the personal
touch that knowing someone
well brings to her customer
service.
Her most marked characteristic
is that she will overcome any
challenge thrown her way by
looking for ways to turn it into
a success for herself, and
others.
