Story adapted from an article originally published in Spartan Magazine, Spring 2024.
Megan Grant is on a lifelong mission to see the world…and to change it at the same time.
The 2016 communication alumna is the owner of Cherish Tours LLC, a woman-centric travel agency aimed at creating experiences to empower women.
Grant grew up taking vacations to exotic destinations. A formative solo overseas trip in her teens planted the seeds of her future career. After graduation, Grant worked in the business hospitality industry, where she honed her skills as an event and conference planner. While the experience sharpened her organizational abilities, it failed to satisfy her ingrained love of travel.
“Conferences are in-and-out and you don’t really appreciate the places that you’re in,” Grant said. “You go to a conference center, you stay in the hotel and you don’t get anything about the culture,” she said. “Travel in that world was not the enjoyable kind. It was work travel. I was burning out on it.”
Grant leaned into the skill sets and confidence she gained at MSU to launch her own business. Cherish LLC hosted its first tour in 2021. Her clients have traveled to overseas locations including Costa Rica, Panama, Iceland, Denmark, Tanzania and Turkey. Grant has also organized domestic tours in Utah and Alaska.
At the core of each trip are women seeking growth and self-fulfillment.
“There’s something powerful about bringing women from different walks of life, different ages, different communities, all of these people together in a space where they can be their most authentic self,” Grant said.
Grant coordinates her tour packages with women-owned businesses in each destination. She’s seen the economic benefits of women supporting women…and that’s how she intends to betboom dacha dubai her business model.
“There are studies that prove when you give a woman a dollar, the effect it spreads in her community is much greater than when you give it to a man,” Grant said. “I believe in the ripple effect of that. The empowerment of not only one person, but many. Supporting women and their dreams creates positive things in the world.”
By: Kevin Lavery