155 Letter from Deborah Kerstetter
Personal profile
I spent my formative years in Micronesia (at that time a United Nations trusteeship under the USA) on the islands of Pohnpei and Saipan. During that time—the 1960s—often considered the “golden age of flying,” we flew to and from North America and Micronesia on Pan Am, which was then the USA’s largest international air carrier. While my parents likely remembered their flying experience differently, my recollection is of beautiful and attentive air hostesses (now known as “flight attendants”), pilots escorting my brothers and me to the cockpit for a birds-eye view of the world, space to move around, and sumptuous meals. I thought the experience so wonderful I dreamt of becoming a flight attendant, thinking that being one would lead to my being glamorous, worldly, and independent. That dream was quickly squelched in the early 1970s when mass travel became more commonplace and being a flight attendant no longer held the same allure. Instead, I chose to study recreation and tourism management, work in the industry and, as often as possible, be a tourist.
Taking flight
In 1970 my family left Micronesia and returned to the mainland United States. We moved to Palo Alto, California where my father pursued his PhD at Stanford University. The two years we spent there were difficult. I entered junior high school as an “un-cool” teenager. I was completely unaware of drugs and the other trappings of the core culture. I responded by investing myself in something I knew—sports. I ran track for a local amateur athletic union team and swam for a local aquatics club; both provided shelter, allowing me to safely navigate my early teen years.
In the summer of 1972, two months before I entered high school, my family moved north to a predominantly agricultural community east of Sacramento, California. Here I began to take flight. I developed my interest in recreation by working for the local parks and recreation department, singing in the choir, participating in theatre, and serving on various student/youth committees and boards. Yet, by my senior year in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. The norm was to attend college but if I did I had no idea what I would study.
I chose to adhere to the norm and attend California State University at Chico. I changed my major multiple times until I found Recreation Administration. I was shocked that I could obtain a degree in something I enjoyed. While it was not a perfect match for my interests (remember, I originally wanted to be a flight attendant), and there were no courses focused on what is today referred to as commercial/for-profit recreation or travel and tourism, I took courses from other disciplines to enhance my degree. I also decided to complete an extended internship as an event manager with the American School System in Lima, Peru. The internship solidified my interest in travel and tourism and led to my pursuit of an advanced degree at The Pennsylvania S