Book your next big adventure through Travel OCC, a travel agency run by students

Looking for a deal on a trip to Bali? Or maybe you’re thinking of backpacking through Europe for the summer?

If so, you may want to make a pit stop at Travel OCC — a new full-service travel agency at Orange Coast College, where students, led by faculty, are poised to seek out the best rates and book world-class itineraries, all while gaining internship hours.

Located on the third floor of the Costa Mesa campus’ College Center, the small but mighty enterprise launched Tuesday with a grand-opening ribbon-cutting ceremony, though bookings are anticipated to begin in earnest next semester.

Open Tuesdays through Thursdays, Travel OCC is open to students, staff and faculty as well as members of the public. Students at the center can plan and book domestic and international flight tickets, hotels, cruises, car rentals or group travel experiences and vacation packages.

Hospitality, Travel & Tourism director Tina DeShano said while some of the program’s courses have hands-on learning opportunities — such as an on-site flight attendant simulation lab or internships at area hotels — there wasn’t much for students seeking their travel agent certification.

“You can go in and volunteer at a travel agency, but it’s very hard to do. And so many of those people have become home based, but we can’t send students into someone’s home,” DeShano said Tuesday. “This is something that will benefit students that we were really just having a hard time finding outside the campus.”

Orange Coast College students ask “Where’s there next travel destination?” at the opening of Travel OCC on Tuesday.

(James Carbone)

Giving students real-world training making travel arrangements through the same software used by major airline companies, Travel OCC allows students to complete the 210 required internship hours needed to earn their Travel & Tourism and certificates and degrees.
Any revenue earned goes straight back into the program or toward providing scholarships for students.

The on-campus travel agency also provides opportunities for those who volunteer there to earn up to 50 hours of lab credit toward their travel-related college coursework.

That’s a big plus for Jenny Nguyen, a student travel adviser in the hospitality program who hopes to someday apply what she’s learning to work with her father, a hotelier in her native Vietnam.

“Before Travel OCC we had to go apply at hotels, like the Marriott and Hyatt, on our own, to get internships,” the 23-year-old said. “This is helpful for international students also, because sometimes they can’t work because they don’t have a work visa, and for people who have packed work schedules and lives.”

Travel OCC, in Orange Coast College’s College Center is a full-service travel agency that will be open to the public.

(James Carbone)

Tuesday’s grand opening drew a contingent of officials from the city and the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, who praised the program for the real-world work experience it will provide students, while potentially inspiring their own wanderlust in the process.

Mayor John Stephens, offering remarks for the occasion, explained that while Costa Mesa may be the best city of its size in the world, it’s vital for young people to broaden their horizons by visiting other nations and experiencing different cultures.

“The great part of the focus on travel is to expand the world of the students, to make them understand we are not the center of the world,” said Stephens who, himself, studied in Denmark as an undergraduate at the advice of a professor.

Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens, center, with Chamber CEO David Haithcock and OCC adjunct professor Katherine Collette celebrate the opening of Travel OCC with students Tuesday.

(James Carbone)

“Thank you for doing this, and thank you for having students be part of having a travel mentality and understanding the world is bigger than what we have in Costa Mesa.”

Katherine Collette, an adjunct professor and director of Travel OCC, agreed with Stephens’ estimation of the city’s virtues.

“I couldn’t agree more — Costa Mesa is absolutely amazing,” she said. “However, those other places are great, and we can get you there.”

Travel OCC is open to the public Tuesdays through Thursdays, from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. or by appointment in the College Center of Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. For more, visit travelocc.com, call (714) 432-5821 or email info@travelocc.com.