Flying in after five weeks in a foreign country is nothing new for Anna Barkway. However, sweating it out as she built the foundation for a community centre in the middle of a thick jungle was.

She graduated from the University of Alberta with an arts degree in recreation, and quickly found herself on staff of Grant MacEwan’s Students’ Association as an event planner. A recent working trip to Nicaragua was planned through the college’s Project H.O.P.E which aims to help struggling areas get a start on building infrastructure.

Barkway, a self-proclaimed Jane-of-all-trades plans, administers and participates in activities at the college when she’s not globe-trotting. However, her penchant for planning doesn’t necessarily cross over into her personal life.

The 25-year-old refuses to plan anything when she backpacks across foreign soil—and for her, it works. She has traveled through Cambodia, Thailand, Australia and many countries in Europe and Central America.

Previous work in tourism and hostelling gives her a certain comfort level abroad. Barkway has never had to worry where she’ll rest her head at night: She’s always found a place to stay. Meeting locals and trying to learn a bit of their language is important to her, but she also won’t take unnecessary risks. “I am a conscientious traveler,” Barkway explains. “I’ve never felt unsafe traveling.”

In her stint as a program director for Hostelling International, Barkway planned and orchestrated games and events for the travelers: an Edmonton version of the TV show Amazing Race, a travel trivia game and a flight itinerary game complete with game board.

Her creative skill in translating television into real life adventure has come in handy in her time at the college. Barkway created a MacEwan version of the Amazing Race and a Singled Out dating game, and is planning an Apprentice game for the new business students come fall.

Not one for being typecast, she keeps MacEwan abuzz with her innovative approach to events at the school. Despite the earmarks of a typical business executive, with her well-styled hair and clothing, Barkway is quick to point out, “I like beer and monster trucks—not the typical girl things.”