Kara grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is a 1999 graduate of the University of Virginia. Kara has spent the past nine years working as an Underwriter for a large insurance company. After meeting Chet and Brigid Rhodes and being introduced to student travel she decided to leave the corporate world to pursue a career in finance with Academic Expeditions. Kara and her family reside in central Virginia where they enjoy a recreational life in the Blue Ridge Mountains.