Stephanie Larsen has long been an avid international traveler, starting with a Girl Scout trip to Mexico when she was in junior high and then being stationed in Germany while she was in the US Army (and traveling to as many other European countries as she could during her tour abroad). Stephanie earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University and had a 25-year career as a public administrator in Arizona and California. After she retired in 2012, she freed up time to indulge her passion for travel. In July 2023, she packed some of her belongings in storage, sold her house, and embarked on life as a permanent nomad. She enjoys Star Trek, which was the inspiration for this blog’s name, and has major interests in science and history. Stephanie’s goal with Beam Me Over There is to highlight cultural tidbits, quirky finds, great regional cuisines, share offbeat destinations, and provide historical and cultural context to the sites she visits.
Rachelle Martinez often travels with her mom, and brings a Millenial’s eye to the places they visit together. She may bring some contrasting viewpoints to her mother’s blogs! And as a Latina, she will also bring that perspective to her travels when appropriate. Because she was bitten hard by the travel bug, Rachelle chose to study at Goucher College in Maryland because they mandated study abroad to acquaint their students with our increasingly interconnected world. In Spring 2016, she spent the semester in Copenhagen with the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, where she specialized in Entrepreneurship. This fall, Rachelle will begin her Master’s degree at the Antwerp Management School, so she’ll likely have articles about adjusting to life in Belgium. A self-professed nerd who enjoys anime and most things Asian, she’s looking forward exploring many “strange new worlds” in the future.
