“Twenty Years On, It’s the Thing I Look Back On With the Most Pride”: Phil’s Borneo Expedition

When Phil took part in his Raleigh Expedition to Borneo in 2004, he never could have known it would play such an important part in his life. Twenty years after being a Venturer Manager in Borneo, where he specialised as a VM supporting PR and Comms, Phil is reflecting on how his Raleigh experience gave him the confidence and skills to drive his future career and just how special his time with Raleigh was. 

My path to Raleigh 

After graduating in 1995, I worked in a PR agency specialising in travel for seven years, working my up to a senior role. But I had reached a point where I knew that if I wanted to progress my career, I needed to do something different, to push myself out of my comfort zone and pick up additional skills.  

So when I was turning 30 and at a cross-roads in life, a school friend told me about her Raleigh International Expedition. And I just thought – why can’t I do that?

I signed up for a Borneo Expedition. I’d never done anything like it before, so it was a real leap in the dark. But in mid-February 2004, I packed up my rucksack, and boarded the flight to Kinabalu with about thirty near strangers unsure of what to expect, but determined to make the most of it.

Doing an Expedition in Borneo was an incredible experience 

Sabah in northern Malaysian Borneo appealed because I wanted to go somewhere where I’d see some natural environments in pristine condition, which we did on Expedition. There was also a loose familial connection for me because my Dad served there in the RAF in the 1960s, and regaled us over the years with tales of what he’d seen, so it was a chance to follow in his footsteps. In reality, we were seeing orangutans in the wild and travelling down a river in a canoe next to Asian elephants, living and working alongside indigenous communities, interacting with local people, and being immersed in a different culture.  

You don’t do that when going somewhere for two or three weeks. But Raleigh is something that can give you so much more, which a normal holiday or travelling experience can’t.

Why Choose Raleigh Over a Generic Gap Year?

I could see the difference that was being made through Raleigh 

As a Venturer Manager leading PR and Comms, I would go to all of the project sites and see the teams making a difference in those communities. You’d see the school that they’d built or you’d see the clinic that they’d help construct. Or you’d see the young people on trek being challenged to climb the mountain. You’d see them flourishing – you’d see these people changing in front of you from one phase to the next. 

Why Join Raleigh as a Venturer Manager?

As a Venturer Manager, I expanded my skills, supporting my future career 

Working as a PR and Comms Venturer Manager with Raleigh International helped me develop some skills that I needed to develop my career when I came back home.  

After Raleigh, I leant so heavily into my Raleigh experience in job interviews. Recruiters really were interested in hearing about it and wanted to know more. With the role I eventually landed, which was an in-house role within the Virgin group of businesses, my Raleigh experience was instrumental as it differentiated me from other applicants. 

It was so fulfilling as I came away from Raleigh with the confidence that I could do more than I had been doing previously. It gave me the confidence to apply for jobs that I previously had talked myself out of.  But because of Raleigh, I knew that if I could do that, then I could do anything, which helped me secure different jobs. 

Even now Raleigh is still something I refer to professionally. Twenty years on, I often will say it’s the thing I look on in my career with the most pride and fulfilment.

How Raleigh International Can Help Transform Your Career Path

What was most special about the Expedition was the sense of purpose  

In terms of personal development, everybody wants to push themselves and Raleigh Expeditions give you so many opportunities to do that. You’re all part of this team and you all want it to succeed. But also what was special was the purpose you’re bringing to the communities, We were able to leave behind facilities, buildings, memories and connections that will have made a difference in their lives

Raleigh International brings you together with people whose paths you’ve never crossed otherwise. It’s a joy in my life to know that, 20 years on, I’m still good friends with people I met and worked with in Raleigh and I know that if I need them for whatever reason, they’re there.

Raleigh showed me the power of resilience in hard times  

I had a fairly serious illness a couple of years ago. In 2022, I developed the brain inflammation disease encephalitis which completely turned my life upside down. Who knows whether some of the lessons I learned as part of Raleigh, of building resilience in challenging circumstances, have helped me get through the last couple of years? It’s very different, but if you’ve been in tough spots before, it helps. 

One day, maybe my kids will follow in my Raleigh Expedition footsteps 

I have two kids and a ‘plus son’ now, and I’d like them to do something similar. Obviously, it’s their choice but if they showed some interest in that then I’d guide them straight towards Raleigh – it’s the organisation to go with. I’ve shown them all the photos I took, and the newsletters and the Expedition magazine we produced. I’ve even got the Expedition t-shirt still! The fact I’ve held on to all these things, across all the different places I’ve lived ever since shows how significant I consider the experience to have been in my life and the affection I have for it.

Read more Raleigh International Alumni Stories.