Shannon O'Donnell (born 1983) is an American writer, traveler and public speaker. She is best known for A Little Adrift, a travel blog she founded to document her travel and philanthropy throughout the world. In 2013 she was named Traveler of the Year by

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

. O'Donnell continues to travel and speaks publicly, focusing on the topic of Voluntourism and

global citizenship Global citizenship is a form of transnationality, specifically the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader global class of "humanity". This do ...

. She has been featured by media outlets that have included ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'',

CNN Money CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's '' Fortune'' and '' Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

and ''

International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online newspaper that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on business and ...

''.

Early life and education

O'Donnell was born in 1983 and raised in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

, where she attended

St. Petersburg High School St. Petersburg High School, founded in 1898, is a secondary school in the Pinellas County School District in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school's current building, a historic landmark, was built in 1926. It was designed by Missouri architect W ...

's IB program and the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

. She graduated from UCF in 2006 with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations.

Career

After graduating from UCF, O'Donnell moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. In 2008, she started a new venture when she decided to travel solo around the globe over the course of a year. She sold most of her possessions and drove back across the United States to leave the rest of her things with her parents. She then set off on her round the world journey. To document her travels, O'Donnell launched A Little Adrift, a blog where she now provides advice to other travelers as well as her other travels since the global trip. O'Donnell began her travel in Sydney and consisted of 15 countries in Asia and Europe. During her travels, she participated in numerous volunteer projects. O'Donnell wrote a book in 2012 called the ''Volunteer Travelers Handbook''. The same year she launched the website Grassroots Volunteering. Her travel and volunteering around the globe caught the attention of and earned her the recognition of being

's 2013 traveler of the year. O'Donnell continues to travel and is a public speaker, keynoting at the International Convocation at

Shenandoah University Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five Unit ...

in 2013. Additional speaking engagements have included the University of Central Florida in 2013 and a National Geographic Live event held in Washington D.C. in 2014.

References

External links

Shannon O'Donnell official website

A Little Adrift travel blog

Grassroots Volunteering official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Shannon Living people American bloggers University of Central Florida alumni 1983 births

Early life and education

Career

See also

References

External links