Emily Williams Knight and husband, Alec
If you ever want to meetbra real-life jetsetter, just talk to Southlake resident Emily Williams Knight.brWhen she says she travels a lot, she means it. In fact, she's a bona fide roadbrwarrior. American Way, the inflightbrmagazine published by American Airlines, deemed her as one in its 14th Annual Road Warrior contest. Williams Knight, along with this year’s four otherbrwinners, vacationed in Belize as the grand prize. Here’s what she has to saybrabout the win, life on the road, and the ups and downs that go along withbrfrequent travel.
SouthlakebrStyle: First of all, congratulationsbron winning the Road Warrior Contest! How does it feel to win the official titlebrof Road Warrior?
Williams Knight: Honestly, I’m stillbra bit surprised about all of it. When the editor of American Way called with the marketing team to share the good news,brI had just come off a flight from Europe and hung up the phone. Thankfully theybrcalled again, and I felt truly blessed to have been selected.
SS: What did it take to enter the contest? What was thebrapplication process like?
Williams Knight: I have been flyingbrAmerican for years and always read about the Road Warriors but never consideredbrmyself one of them. It was last fall when I was returning from yet anotherbrinternational trip that I read about the contest and thought this time, I mustbrapply. The criteria changes each year, but for my class, we had to write anbressay on why we should be the next Road Warrior, had to write a poem, and ofbrcourse, had to have traveled a lot of miles on American. My essay was about mybrrole in global higher education and the incredible pride I feel in working withbrstudents from around the world. I also wrote about being a female executive andbrhow my twin girls and I have made a pact that I don’t travel more than sevenbrdays at a time away from home. American out of Dallas makes this possible—althoughbrthe wear and tear on Mom can be significant!
SS: Part of your prize was a trip to Belize. Share with usbrabout that experience.
Williams Knight: This entirebrexperience was life changing for me. I am pretty busy between my twins, mybrcareer and finishing my doctorate in higher education, and to have time away tobrtry new things and to relax was the greatest gift of all. I swam with sharks,brzip lined through the rain forest, flew in the front seat of a plane with thebrpilot, and took a canoe into a Mayan cave. I would never have done that on mybrown. The zip lining was terrifying, and before I stepped off the platform thebrfirst time, I had tears running down my face—pure fear. By the second line, Ibrwanted to go first—to experience the freedom of sailing through the jungle atbr50 miles per hour. It was just incredible. Finally, the other four winners havebrbecome friends for life. Five people who likely never would have met before arebrnow connected forever and committed to staying friends. Just last week when thebrmagazine launched, all five and many of their spouses and significant othersbrmade the trip to Dallas so we could celebrate together. I have no doubt thisbrwas God’s plan, and I feel so grateful and blessed to have had this experiencebrand to interact with such incredible people from across the United States.
SS: Give us an idea of just how much you've traveled.
Williams Knight: Wow—I think if Ibrstop and count I will get tired. I have traveled the world for my career, visitingbrcountries across Europe, Asia, South America, and of course spent a lot of timebrflying around the United States. So far this year, I’ve flown six times tobrEurope, several U.S. destinations and of course to Belize. My typical flight isbr10 hours, and I pray for a tailwind to help us along the way. If I add them up, I’ve likely visited 25brcountries with my current office in Switzerland where I commute each month.
SS: So you travel mostly for business?
Williams Knight: My role in globalbrhigher education keeps me traveling abroad, and when I am home, I often like tobrdo just that—stay home.
SS: Who are your most frequent travel companions?
Williams Knight: I typically travelbralone out of DFW. However, I have been fortunate to meet some interesting andbrspecial people along the way. My favorite companions are my husband, Alec, andbrmy twin 10-year-old girls, Elizabeth and Olivia. They are incredibly supportivebrand in February, I took them on one of my trips to Switzerland. They loved itbrbut certainly got a dose of what mom’s life is like on the return flight.brKeeping 10-year-old girls entertained for 10 hours was a challenge to say thebrleast!
SS: What do you enjoy most about jet-setting all over thebrworld?
Williams Knight: This one is easy—thebrpeople. I have learned one thing and it is one of the most important lessons inbrlife: no matter where you go, we are all the same. I take the time on each tripbrto get to know the people—their customs, their values, and in the end, they maybreat different food, have different political views, enjoy different forms ofbrentertainment and live differently than us, but they have goals and dreams. Theybrare no different from us. There has not been a trip that I have taken that Ibrdid not leave feeling so incredibly grateful for this opportunity to see thebrworld. It is exhausting, but when the plane door closes each time, I make thebrmost of the experience and always look for how I can positively impact everyonebrI meet.
SS: What's your least favorite part of traveling? The jetbrlag? The airport layovers?
Williams Knight: That feeling whenbryou leave DFW and fly overnight, land at your destination, and when they openbrthe door, the sun hits your face and your body responds with great fatigue. Thatbrfeeling is the very worst for me. I often tell my girls the worst part is thatbrfirst overnight flight when you land and then work all day and your body is tellingbryou to go back to sleep. That and working to stay awake with the time change tobrbe sure I can talk to my girls when they come home from school. There have beenbrnights that I pace around my hotel room to stay awake just so I can hear aboutbrtheir school day and listen to their voice before heading to bed.
SS: What has been one of your favorite memories from yourbrtravels?
Williams Knight: I have so many happybrmemories. One of my favorites was the first time I traveled to Istanbul,brTurkey. I checked into my room and while unpacking heard this incredible soundbroutside my room. I opened the door and realized two things: I was hearing thebrcall to prayer from the chanters across the city and my room was sitting rightbrwhere Asia and Europe come together. The sun was setting, the call to prayer abrhum in the distance, and I remember feeling a sense of peace and gratefulnessbrthat has stuck with me for several years.
SS: Where will your travels take you next?
Williams Knight: Thankfully, we arebrtraveling to Mexico for Spring Break for some much needed R&R. The day Ibrreturn, I fly back to Geneva to meet with my team. Later this spring I willbrcover China and then Southeast Asia.