S5, E10: I Explored the Globe Alongside President Obama. Now, I Empower Young Women to Experience the Same Opportunities

In the tenth episode of Travel Tales by Dinogo, season five, Deesha Dyer, the former social secretary for the Obama administration and co-founder of beGirl.world Global Scholars, embarks on the organization’s inaugural trip with 10 teens. At the airport, she shares their excitement and nerves, ultimately discovering as much as they do throughout their journey.

Transcript

I’m Aislyn Greene, and this is Travel Tales by Dinogo. Each week, we dive into transformative travel stories from poets, scientists, authors, entrepreneurs, and many others.

This week, we’ll hear from Deesha Dyer. Deesha has a wealth of incredible travel experiences, but what sets her apart is her direct connection to former President Barack Obama.

For eight years, she served in the Obama White House, holding various roles, including social secretary, where she coordinated all the President’s and First Lady’s travel—often accompanying them. What an amazing job!

She’s also penned a new memoir, Undiplomatic, detailing her experiences in the White House, her journey there, and its impact on her life. During her travels with the Obamas, she noticed how few Black students study abroad, prompting her to take action.

Some people thrive in London, others in Paris, and some love both. My husband is a Paris person—I’m a London person. I have family in London, and I understand it. Paris, on the other hand, feels chaotic to me, much like New York. Traveling solo there is fine, as I’ve explored the globe alone.

But picture arriving in Paris on a sweltering summer day with 10 teenage girls—and their piles of luggage—while feeling the weight of ensuring their safety and comfort. That was my reality in August 2016. I was terrified we might lose someone amidst the chaos of giggling girls, thinking, “At any moment, someone could wander off.”

I was desperate to hire a van and driver to transport us around. However, since it was the inaugural trip for my organization, beGirl.world Global Scholars, we simply couldn’t afford it. As I surveyed the typical moody expressions of the girls, I couldn’t help but question if this experience would even be worthwhile.

I discovered my passion for travel through television. Growing up in the '80s, I loved shows that showcased various locations, like Three’s Company in San Diego, The Cosby Show in New York, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. My family, based in Philly, would take short trips to the Jersey Shore and New York, but we couldn’t afford much more, and honestly, extensive travel wasn’t really my parents’ style.

Nonetheless, that didn’t stop me. It might seem odd, but as I grew older, textbooks ignited my wanderlust. For instance, my science book featured a stunning picture of a mountain, stating, “This is a mountain in Ethiopia where coffee beans are grown.” I was captivated, spinning the globe and pondering, “Ethiopia is so far from Philly. What would it be like to explore there?”

At 19, I finally began to turn my travel dreams into reality. I landed two jobs simultaneously: one as a reservation agent at American Airlines and the other as a front desk agent at the Omni Netherland hotel chain. With my airline and hotel discounts, I thought, “Now I can really travel!”

And I did! I explored the United States extensively and eventually ventured internationally. Each new destination only fueled my desire to see more; it felt liberating.

However, it was my role at the Obama White House—yes, the White House!—that inspired me to establish beGirl.world Global Scholars. In 2010, I served as the associate director of scheduling correspondence, coordinating all travel for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

I had a wonderful friend named Marcella, a Black mother of two daughters who frequently took them on trips. One day, I excitedly shared that I had been traveling with the President and First Lady, and I learned about something called the Foreign Service, where you can actually work in another country representing the United States. I was amazed.

I said, “We need to spread the word about this opportunity for more Black students, encouraging them to pursue international relations in college so they can enter the foreign service.”

I recounted a story to Marcella about my time at the embassy in Beijing, China, preparing for the President’s visit. A high school group visited—an all-white school—and I asked, “Oh, are you here for an assignment?” They replied, “No, it’s just our school trip.”

I thought, “Oh my goodness. This all-white school—who funds this? I assume it’s a wealthy school, but still, who pays for high school kids to tour embassies in different countries? This is wild.”

Marcella and I then decided to examine study abroad statistics, as it appeared many Black students were unaware of these opportunities. We found that less than 6 percent of study abroad students are Black. I declared, “We need to take action.”

This inspiration led us to establish beGirl.world Global Scholars in 2014. As Black girls, we aimed to empower other young women. We kicked off with fundamental international and travel education, hoping to encourage them to pursue studying abroad by the time they reached college. I believed that if we could help even one girl discover the joys of exploring the world, we would have succeeded.

Our inaugural class included 14 girls from the Philadelphia area. We held a launch event focused on international themes to introduce them to the program, which would meet monthly for two years leading up to our big trip abroad.

The majority of the girls were filled with excitement, albeit a bit anxious. Luckily, many of their parents knew each other, so even if they weren’t the closest friends, they recognized one another. Over the next two years, we assisted them in preparing for their journeys: applying for passports, learning languages, planning mock trips, taking self-defense classes, and discussing homesickness. We even embarked on a short practice trip to New York and Washington, D.C., to give them a taste of traveling.

Our ultimate goal was a nine-day adventure through London and Paris. When departure day arrived, nerves ran high—both mine and Marcella’s, as well as the girls’. They felt apprehensive about saying farewell to their parents and boarding the plane. While they were eager, uncertainty loomed. Being from Philly and identifying as Black, they wondered if they would be judged or fit into these new environments. Such thoughts made them understandably shy.

We spent the first six days in London, partnering with a local university that welcomed study abroad students from Temple University in Philadelphia. Having visited London multiple times, I felt confident in navigating the city, though it was a different experience traveling with 12 others instead of alone. It was incredible to witness the girls blossom as we arrived; seeing familiar stores like Primark, H&M, and Gap made them exclaim, “Oh, this feels just like home.”

We experienced all the iconic sights, including the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, and Shakespeare’s Globe. We took them shopping at Primark and showed them how to navigate the Tube. Additionally, we arranged a meeting with the study abroad representatives from Temple University and hosted an event at the U.S. embassy in London, where they could learn about careers in foreign service.

One of the most memorable days for both them and me was when we enjoyed high tea. We encouraged them to dress up and apply some makeup, and they truly embraced it. Being in that elegant tea room, where young Black girls aren’t typically seen, felt like a moment straight out of a Gordon Parks photograph, watching them sip tea and sample dainty sandwiches in their best outfits. They seemed to feel like royalty, having a blast even if they found the servings amusingly small, asking, “Can we have more than one of these?”

I aimed to foster their excitement while also keeping it real. I explained, “Guys, this is just a tuna sandwich. It may look fancy, but it’s really just tuna and cucumber on bread.” Their realization of the simplicity made them laugh, saying, “Oh, it is just a tuna sandwich.”

I wanted them to understand their worth and that they deserved to enjoy high tea in a lavish setting without feeling intimidated. It served as a reminder of my purpose there: to help them explore the world with confidence and courage, ensuring they always feel a sense of belonging.

And then we moved on to Paris.

While I felt completely at ease in London, Paris put me on high alert the whole time. It was sweltering, and for many of the girls, it was their first experience in a place with a different language. After traveling for a while, tensions were beginning to rise.

We had just three days, but we packed in educational activities like visiting the Louvre, taking a boat ride on the Seine, having a roundtable at the American embassy, and touring Notre Dame. There’s a hilarious photo of us inside Notre Dame—Marcella and I are grinning while the girls look like they’re in agony. To lighten the mood, we took them shopping, to a local market for souvenirs, and even to a French McDonald’s.

Naturally, we had to see the Eiffel Tower. Marcella and I were eager to treat them to crepes while watching the tower light up, soaking in that classic Parisian vibe. As we enjoyed our crepes, it started getting dark, and the girls' excitement grew with every step we took toward the tower. We reached the expansive lawn nearby, where they ran around doing cartwheels and snapping pictures. They were having a blast.

As the tower illuminated, tourists around us were snapping pictures, exclaiming, “Oh my God!” One of our girls exclaimed, “Wow, it looks just like the real Eiffel Tower!” Another chimed in, “Yeah, it does look like the real one.” I was taken aback and wanted to understand more, so I asked, “What do you mean?” She responded, “The real one is in Las Vegas. This is the replica. This is the fake one.”

Marcella and I exchanged glances and laughed, but my immediate thought was, “Oh my goodness, we’ve failed. We’ve had these girls for two years and now we’re in Paris, and they don’t know the real Eiffel Tower.” I pressed on to learn more and asked her, “Have you been there?” She replied, “No, but my mom went and took a picture to show us.”

Once I clarified, I said, “No, this is the real Eiffel Tower. The authentic Eiffel Tower is in Paris, France, where we currently are. That picture your mom showed you is from a hotel called Paris, Paris, named after this very tower.” She responded, “Seriously?” The best part? She wasn’t embarrassed at all.

We all burst into laughter because she exclaimed, “My mom told me!” and Marcella and I chimed in, “Don’t blame your mom! Don’t blame your mom.” I thought to myself, “Maybe her mom just doesn’t know; perhaps she’s never been to Paris.”

In that moment, both Marcella and I understood, “First, this is why travel is incredibly important. Second, moving forward, we need to clarify everything for them, even the things we think everyone knows because they’re so iconic.”

It was a moment of clarity, laughter, and a realization of why this program is so essential.

The girls were thrilled to be back home, and so was I. We all gained so much from that initial trip. Since then, Marcella and I have incorporated formal language classes into the two-year program. We collaborate more with local guides during our visits and now include younger chaperones on our trips, who are closer in age to the girls. The program continues to evolve and improve.

Although that first trip was the hardest we've undertaken, the girls truly transformed because of it. They grew more open and curious about traveling to new destinations. Five of them went on to participate in study abroad programs, and now, at 23, they’re exploring the world independently, carving their own paths.

We’re preparing to take our third graduating class to Portugal, and four of the girls from that initial trip will be chaperones. Marcella and I have accomplished what we set out to do back in 2014. We’ve provided passports to 100 girls, helped 35 travel through our program, and awarded over 10 scholarships to Black women pursuing studies abroad.

We aim to achieve even more, but I love that we’ve empowered each and every girl to discover something about herself while expanding her horizons. We’ve laid the groundwork for a lifetime of travel, which is all I could ever want or need.

Aislyn Greene: That was Deesha Dyer; beGirl.world is now a decade old, and their latest group of girls is heading to Portugal. To support their mission, visit begirlworld.com, and you can find more about Deesha at deeshadyer.com. We’ll link everything in our show notes. If you’re interested in hearing more about Deesha’s experiences traveling with and for the Obamas, check out my interview with her on YouTube; she has incredible stories to share. Next week, we’ll be journeying across the United States with Charlie Sprinkman, founder of Everywhere Is Queer, a map designed to help LGBTQ+ travelers find welcoming spaces worldwide.

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You’ve been listening to Travel Tales, brought to you by Dinogo Media. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with music composed and produced by Strike Audio.

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