Meet the Group Leaders: she applied even though it did not fit her life at all. The story of Franziska

There are people who refuse to watch the world from the sidelines. They are not tour guides. They are not influencers. They are ordinary people who made extraordinary choices.

They stopped waiting for the right moment and just left. They faced their fears, crossed deserts, met strangers and then decided to do it all over again, bringing others along with them. In this series, WeRoad Group Leaders share how travel can change you and why doing it together with others can make all the difference.

This is Franziska’s story.

From the classroom to the world and back again

In February 2023, Franziska saw an Instagram story looking for Group Leaders. It seemed too good to be true. It also did not fit her life at all: she was in the middle of her teacher training practical year in Germany.

She applied anyway.

Looking back, she is very glad she did. WeRoad turned into something far bigger than she had expected and became one of the most important parts of her life. Today she travels to destinations across the world, and brings everything she finds there back into the classroom with her.

So what happens when a teacher decides to apply for something that makes no sense at the time? We asked her.

IDENTIKIT

• Teacher and Group Leader
• Germany, Leipzig
• 3 years as a WeRoad Group Leader

How did you become a WeRoad Group Leader?

I applied in February 2023, after seeing an Instagram story looking for Group Leaders. Honestly, it seemed too good to be true. Plus, it did not really fit my life at that point at all: I was in the middle of the practical year of my teacher training in Germany. But something about it felt exciting, so I thought: why not give it a try?

Looking back, I am very happy I did. It turned into something so big and meaningful that I never expected, I became a Group Leader and it has become a really important part of my life.

Is there a moment from a trip that you still see when you close your eyes?

The sunsets on Holbox Island in Mexico. They were incredibly peaceful and touching. A pastel sky, salty curly hair, sitting on towels in the light sand after eating many delicious tacos and my very first group around me. Only four people back then.

I remember looking around and thinking how extraordinary it was that these people had been complete strangers to me just a few days before and now we were sharing this moment together and would carry it with us together, too.

What really changes when you travel with people you have never met before?

For me, it completely changes the way I perceive my surroundings. You suddenly get this kaleidoscope of different perspectives, personalities and individual needs.

And then there is a certain magic in watching all those different energies connect and create something new. It can be the excitement of finally seeing a landmark with your own eyes, but also something as simple as sharing a laugh with a local on the street. You experience a place not only through your own eyes, but through everyone around you.

What does a Group Leader do that travellers never see?

You care. A lot.

You are constantly trying to find the best solution for everyone: making long lists of possible restaurants, thinking about plan Bs, checking that everyone is happy and sometimes worrying far too much about whether they are actually having the best possible time.

You are a teacher. What do you bring into the classroom on a Monday morning after a trip?

Although I am not currently teaching regularly in a German school, I can already sense how much my future students will benefit from my personal growth through WeRoad.

There are the organisational skills and the confidence to stay flexible, those will help a lot. But especially the ability to read the room. Travelling with so many different people has taught me to notice individual needs, adapt quickly and see things from multiple perspectives at once.

Travelling to 21 different destinations has also taught me humility, a deep respect for different traditions, and how to find happiness everywhere. And I want to bring that mindset into my classroom.

Discover them. Fall in love with their stories.

Franziska applied for something that made no sense at the time. She was in the middle of teacher training. The timing was wrong. She went for it anyway and 21 destinations later, she is still going.

Her story is one of the many that WeRoad Group Leaders carry with them. Not the destination, not the itinerary: the person they were before they left, and the one they became along the way.

On this blog, we share their stories, one at a time. Because behind every WeRoad trip there is always someone who chose to take the leap and then decided never to stop, bringing others along for the ride.