By Taylor Kay, Senior Director, Work and Travel Program at Greenheart.
A Fantastic BridgeUSA Event
Mix cornfields, a Thanksgiving meal and Kazakhstani desserts and sprinkle in wooden roller coasters and diplomacy and you have the recipe for a fantastic BridgeUSA event at Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari located in Santa Claus, Indiana.
I had the privilege to represent Greenheart Exchange among other Summer Work Travel sponsors, members of the amusement park industry and the US Chamber of Commerce in a demonstration of the cultural and economic power of BridgeUSA programs. Special guests included Rebecca Pasini, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Private Sector Exchange in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at Department of State and Karen Ward, Director of Office of Private Sector Exchange Designation in the same bureau and about 10 Summer Work Travel participants, among over 100 that are living in Santa Claus this summer and working in the park. Holiday World toured us through all facets of their excellent international program, which started only a few years ago.
Welcoming Hosts
Before I get to the event, let’s talk about our gracious hosts. Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari is in southern Indiana within a couple hours’ drive of Louisville, St. Louis and Nashville. To my surprise the park isn’t just about Christmas, there are substantial areas themed for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the 4th of July as well as a busy water park providing relief on those hot and humid Indiana days – and our day there was no exception. Corn and soybean fields line the roads and the county’s population of about 20,000 has meant that the theme park has long had to be creative to attract the 1,800 staff needed to run the park each summer.
The Holiday World Story
Park leaders told the Holiday World story. Staffing is tough: the park sends buses up to an hour away to collect staff from neighboring towns. They have offered all sorts of discounts and bonuses to attract staff and yet it was still difficult to open all their attractions in their shoulder seasons when local kids and college students were in class, and even on the peak days in the summer when park attendance maxed out.
Starting in 2021, they decided to give the Summer Work Travel Program a try. Today over 100 participants from 10 countries work at the park. Their presence has had a positive effect on everyone. Managers indicated that their work ethic, energy and enthusiasm rub off on their domestic staff and improved overall levels of service and retention. I talked with one 16-year-old working his third summer at Holiday World who described how much he enjoys learning about his overseas coworkers.
Meeting with Work and Travel Participants
I talked to 15 Greenheart participants in Food & Beverage, Ride Operations, and Lifeguards in the water park. They recounted getting to work plenty of hours in the busy park. They enjoy playing sports and activities in the evenings and exploring cities on park-arranged bus trips. A trip to Six Flags and the St. Louis Zoo was a highlight. The participants indicated the housing – a dormitory just a few minutes’ walk from the park – was comfortable and lively.
Cultural Exchange Panel Plus a Taste from Home
We heard from a panel of participants prompted with questions from Holiday World President Matt Eckert. Yernar, a Greenheart participant from Kazakhstan, described how much he loved the HOlympics, an annual competition of nontraditional sports. Another participant expressed enthusiasm for a Christmas-in-July gingerbread house building event. Many said that they loved American food and — I can’t believe I wrote this down — “Walmart is fun!”
Following this panel, participants prepared desserts from their home countries: flans and dulces and rice puddings. Greenheart participants Kamila and Nuray (Kazakhstan) shared with us zhent (a sort of sweet millet balls) and irimshik (a cottage cheese-like sweet treat). Delicious!
Wrapping up on a Great Note
The event wrapped up with a roundtable discussion of BridgeUSA programs. Throughout the day, Deputy Assistant Secretary Pasini asked lots of questions of everyone and thoroughly engaged with the participants. She understands the multiple benefits of this program as a tool of public diplomacy and as a cultural exchange. Furthermore, the program is economically beneficial to host employers and seasonal communities that host tourists and participants alike. DAS Pasini said, “The best example of the United States is the United States”. She added, “exchange visitors gain a deeper understanding of the United States and go home to be change makers in their own communities. They go home and start nonprofits, they get involved in social issues they open businesses, maybe even a funnel cake shop.”
For me personally, this was a rewarding day. I always enjoy speaking with participants on the job. It was also inspiring to hear from other sponsors, host employers. Likewise, it was a joy to see the Department of State so receptive to our ideas and asking questions.
Final Thoughts: The Work and Travel Program Supports U.S. Businesses and Communities
There was widespread agreement that the most powerful argument in favor of these programs is storytelling. Mayors, legislators and other leaders want to hear from host employers about these programs. “Our community is a better vacation destination when we are all open”, one host employer described it. The surge of participants at the shoulder seasons and in the height of summer makes that possible.
Thank you, Tyler, for representing Greenheart at such a significant event and sharing your inspirational reflections! We wish our Work and Travel participants a wonderful remainder of their program in the United States.
Are you a U.S. business and want to host international seasonal staff for a cultural exchange? Please visit HirewithGreenheart.org to learn more.
To learn more about Greenheart’s Work and Travel program visit GreenheartExchange.org.