A Port Coquitlam resident has her eyes on a once-in-a-lifetime travel prize - all she needs are your votes to win it.
Jocelyn Wilcox, a 2003 Riverside secondary school grad, is angling for a coveted spot with Global Degree, a travel program aiming to see all 193 United Nations countries.
She met the two behind the program - Michael Graziano, who is attempting to be the youngest North American to visit every country in the world, and videographer Alex Hennessy - while visiting Ecuador on a recent trip through South America.
"I was really interested in their project and hung out with them for a few days," Wilcox said. "I actually seeded it into their ear and said, 'Why don't you have a girl with you on the show?'"
The idea stuck and now Global Degree is holding an open contest to find a new cast member who can be the youngest female to visit every country in the world. The YouTube show, which posted its latest episode in October from Argentina, is part documentary and part travelogue, offering reviews and prices on places to stay, local outings and adventures - and giving armchair travellers a fascinating, fast-paced glimpse into their destinations.
Should Wilcox win (she's currently sitting at second place with about 700 votes for her four-minute video clip) she'd be looking forward to about eight months of traveling throughout Asia before returning home to work and save money for the next leg. The entire world-travel project is expected to wrap up sometime in 2018, Wilcox said.
"I contacted Guinness [World Records] yesterday and it's never been done by a female, so it's a pretty big deal," she said.
Growing up, Wilcox and her family used to take annual road trips down to California and they also braved a cross-Canada road trip, but she was really bit by the travel bug when she was 20. That's when she packed her bag and, leaving behind two very worried parents, headed off to explore Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
"At the time, Nicaragua was really off the beaten path, there wasn't a lot of tourism and it was still considered pretty dangerous to go there," Wilcox said. "But that was one of the countries that really got me into traveling and seeing other cultures and the way other people live."
In 2009, Wilcox spent five months traveling through southeast Asia and, just recently, enjoyed 10 months of exploring all 16 countries in South America - all by local bus. (Her still-worried parents convinced her to bring a GPS navigation system that pings home a map location and an "I'm OK" or, if not, an immediate SOS message.)
So far she cites Costa Rica as her all-time favourite destination and, topping her must-see spots? Cape Town, South Africa.
For more information and to vote for Wilcox, visit www.globaldegree.tv.
@spayneTC
