Sarah Hechler was fresh out of college when her later mother-in-law approached her and asked if she wanted to work together on her independent business. Hechler agreed but was unaware of all the beautiful memories she would unlock on these adventures.
Diana Hechler, Sarah’s mother-in-law, had created a travel agency business over her lifetime, and her job was to arrange trips for people all over the world. Some of these trips included honeymoons, family vacations and reunions. Hechler found this job incredibly fitting because she loved traveling and foreign languages.
It was the next best thing for her.
Hechler fell into a routine with her job; sometimes they would know what they wanted to do, and other times they had no clue. Her job required her to get to know her clients — gaining a better understanding of their interests. Once they had a rough idea of their travel plans, Hechler would call up tour companies, hotels and airplanes. The company would then put together all the little pieces of the trip.
Because Hechler was a client of these travel agencies, they frequently offered to sponsor the trips.
Hechler describes these traveling adventures as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore unique cultures and meaningful parts of the world.
“I went primarily on trips to the Pacific because that part of the world that I ended up specializing in was Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti and Fiji,” Hechler said. “So sort of the Pacific Islands and then Australia, New Zealand, which I adored,” said Hechler.
These trips were extremely intriguing for Hechler. New Zealand was perfect for her, considering her love for “The Lord of the Rings” movies and the Pacific Islands. She loved the Pacific Islands because of their history and culture. The people Hechler met became some of her closest friends and family. She became bonded for life with the people around her and is now able to cherish these experiences with them. Hechler was so grateful to be able to do this and was ultimately in heaven.
Some of Hechler’s favorite memories include climbing the Harbour Bridge in Sydney and watching the sunset over guru Ayers Rock, Red Center. The Outback of Australia was another favorite of Hechler’s. The Outback was unique to her because she barely saw any trace of humans for miles and miles, besides the road. Hechler also recalls visiting villages in Fiji and meeting the chiefs and members of the village.
“To be there and to visit when we were welcomed into what was going on in the village in Fiji, I felt like I was leaving a piece of my heart behind like… I cried, I cried,” Hechler said.
Hechler experienced these incredible trips, but this wasn’t her everyday life. Her daily tasks included working on her laptop at home. She would sit and wait for the phone to ring or an email to come in, which ultimately created a lonely atmosphere when working at home. Hechler craved human connection.
Hechler had received her undergraduate degree and came to the realization that she needed a more personal job. The thought of being a teacher had always lingered in Hechler’s mind, but she wasn’t so sure. She decided to test this idea. When she went on a trip to Tahiti, Hechler decided she would know if she wanted to teach if the same thought lingered in her mind when she got back. When she returned home, the idea of being a teacher remained at the center of her mind.
Her final push was when she found out her former teacher was dying of cancer. Hechler found that many former students emailed, wrote letters and visited him to tell him how much he meant to them.
“I just kept thinking, ‘Oh, man, if I could be even the tiniest little sliver of that… I could probably never be as great as him, but maybe I could be a little tiny fraction of that for somebody else. Then my life would mean something,” Hechler said.
Her former teacher helped to finalize her decision to become an educator. Luckily, she got to deliver the good news to him before he sadly passed.
She went back to school and when finished, she hopped around through multiple schools. She taught at Community High School for a little bit and hopped around some more.
“I mean, I loved Community High School and I was thrilled to have a chance to come back,” Hechler said “At first, I was really part-time. It was only like two classes that first semester, and then some fellow teachers retired and I came on full-time,” Ultimately, she came back to teach social studies full-time where she now remains.
It is safe to say that Hechler has experienced so much. She has been everywhere, seen so much and met so many unique people. She has done it all and isn’t finished. For now, motherhood and teaching is her job, but traveling will always have a fond place in her heart.
