I grew up watching Barbie wake up in a new country to solve a mystery or become a marine biologist for a day. She saw the world in style, with freedom.
At the same time, my family recounted my dad's immigration to the U.S. for a better life. When I turned 7, my dad was stationed in Japan and our family moved there.
Our stories were so different—her whipping pink convertible, and us diluting the dish soap to last another week…
I developed a narrative: some travel because they want to. But people like me only travel when we have to.
At age 17, as I was applying to scholarship after scholarship to be able to afford college, I remember wondering:
How can someone like me see the world?
An idea dawned on me: If there are scholarships for college, are there scholarships for travel?
Spoiler: there are. I won $40,000, which fueled a year-long study abroad in Dubai and 6 more countries. I was hooked, but I was also graduating. Was my dream so short-lived?
Because, if there are travel scholarships for students, are there travel scholarships for non-students?
That led me to a fully-funded, week-long cultural exchange in South Korea. I had taken PTO from my engineering job to be able to go and it was a fight with my company.
The experience was an ultimatum: would I spend my 20s fighting for paid time off from a job that drained me or seek paid travel opportunities to live a life I love?
The rest was history. I started @packslight and the PTO Dashboard and became a travel influencer to make travel more accessible for other people like me.
I've been awarded more than $200,000 in scholarships, grants, funded cultural exchanges, etc., and have used them to travel to countries like the UAE 🇦🇪, South Korea 🇰🇷, Austria 🇦🇹, Fiji 🇫🇯 and more without the stress of credit card debt, stretching one taco for three meals, or resorting to sketchy money-making or travel methods.
PTOs have helped me:
And I want the same for you.
The 2025 launch of SeekPTO is a culmination of all my ambition, failure, success, and experience. Thanks for joining the journey!
Gabby has a Bachelors of Science in Statistics, a Certificate in Middle Eastern studies, and work experience as an engineer, but became a full-time travel content creator @packslight since 2020.
Originally a PTO intern in 2020, Taylor has now become head of Operations for Packs Light and SeekPTO. She's from upstate New York and is chronically online.
Justice joined the team just out of college. A first generation Nigerian-American, Justice supports SeekPTO's mission. He also loves baking and gaming.
