Veronica Droulia is an English junior at the University, but if you’ve seen her Instagram, you may pin her as more of a Geography major.
Droulia has traveled the world in only a couple of years. She grew up without ever leaving North America and being perfectly happy with it, but once she left the States following her senior year of high school, she learned about her unquenchable thirst for adventure and travel.
“Once I finally traveled to another country, I knew I had to keep traveling no matter what,” Droulia said.
Her first trip out of America was to Jamaica with a friend of hers. She was immediately infatuated with the different culture, food and how warm the locals were. Droulia said the people were welcoming and happy to help travelers, which made her feel at home though she was nowhere near it.
The moment she arrived home from Jamaica, she started planning her next trip. With only a couple of months before her freshman year of college, she knew she needed to act fast. She decided to go with EF Ultimate Break, a travel company specifically for college-aged students, to Germany with her cousin. They were introduced to the fried, delicious food of Germany and the social norms of the German people.
“I learned that some things are considered rude in other cultures,” Droulia said. “For example, in Germany, they don’t say ‘what’s up’ because small talk isn’t as common there as it is here. I learned to always do lots of research on a country before visiting.”
Droulia returned to Germany the summer following her freshman year for a study abroad program. Her study abroad ended in Prague, but she wasn’t done with Europe, so she decided to stay in Europe and continue her travels, specifically in Greece.
Droulia said Greece is her favorite place to travel to because she feels like it’s a second home. Her travels to Greece have exposed her to the world famous Grecian architecture and food, which she still prepares for herself in her own home.
Droulia’s father was born in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, so she already had a tie to the country. However, she said her own experiences there are what made Greece her favorite travel spot. It was not only the beauty, but the kindness of the locals that made Droulia feel at home.
When she isn’t traveling out of the country, she’s in school at the University for English with a minor in German. She tries to schedule all Tuesday and Thursday classes so she can travel on the weekends. Droulia uses some of these free weekends to travel to the headquarters of, “Like to Know It,” her current job which allows her to showcase her travel outfits.
Droulia began working with “Like To Know It” in August 2017. The app helps shoppers easily find where their favorite Instagram model’s outfits are from. Droulia posts about three pictures a month related to the app. “Like To Know It” brought Droulia to do a paid partnership with Urban Outfitters.
“It’s been awesome working with them because I get to meet a lot of other college girls who work with the app too,” Droulia said.
Droulia went to D.C. over the summer, and instead of working with “Like To Know It,” she wrote proposals with data concerning nonprofits and sent them to different foundations. She said she hopes to work for a family foundation one day where she could litigate and bring about change. For now, she is focusing on school and her world travels.
“I’m so happy that I’ve been able to experience different cultures and learn about them,” Droulia said.
