The Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, Vietnam & Sri Lanka with Crystal Winston

Podcast

Oct 9

Written By Christine Job

Crystal Winston shares how volunteering with Peace Corps Response changed the trajectory of her career and her life!

Meet Crystal

Crystal is an American urbanist, consultant, and serial social entrepreneur. She received both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Harvard University. Crystal has led high-profile projects for the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, and the US government. She maintains a parallel career in education and community development, running a Kenya-based network for women in development and entrepreneurship and setting up an organization to teach design skills to youth in South Asia. She also loves teaching business and academic English to adult learners.

But just a few years ago, this wasn't her lifestyle. Still, Crystal was part of an amazing team, enjoying a globetrotting career, a hilltop apartment in a popular DC neighborhood, a six-figure salary, and glittery nights at parties and inauguration balls. She scaled the ladder from Fellow to manager in less than 5 years, with the help of exclusive training and mentorship. Everything was literally textbook perfect. However, Crystal knew something was missing and summoned the courage to travel a different path.

In 2017, Crystal experimented with life outside of the DC bubble through Peace Corps Response. The experience changed her perspective on how to attain what she wanted out of life. Less than a year later, she landed her first independent consulting contract and quit her six-figure job to move overseas. Crystal has traveled to 45 countries and lived in the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, and Vietnam. Largely thanks to these travels, she has studied several languages, including Spanish, French, Ilonggo, Swahili, and Sinhala. She travels the world with her cat Shadow and enjoys a life-affirming network of friends and family all over the globe.

Connect with Crystal

What resources (books, blogs, services, apps) did you utilize to help you go abroad & thrive abroad?

Books: Waking The Dead, The Bible
Speakers: Simon Sinek
Apps: Numbeo, NomadList

What is the motto (affirmation, prayer, poem, song lyrics, etc.) that you live by?

Thrive.

It's simple, but I believe that great things happen when we are committed to thriving -- thriving as individuals, thriving in our communities, our relationships, and everything we touch.

"Do one thing every day that scares you." - Eleanor Roosevelt

This Episode Covers:

Visiting India