Imagine your organization’s mission is to empower the next generation of scientists to pursue their passions, while addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. That’s exactly what Society for Science does every day, 365 days a year. Each year the nonprofit produces inspiring STEM research competitions for young people around the world. 

Through prestigious annual competitions like the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair as well as events like the Research Teachers Conference, the Society brings together a wide variety of attendees, including staff, teachers, judges, students and parents. 

These aren't your parents’ science fairs—student competitors present original scientific research often at a Ph.D. level, 20 percent of them have patents or patents pending and more than a dozen Nobel Prize winners participated in the Society’s programs as high school students. These programs not only celebrate scientific excellence but also foster community where young scientists can connect, learn from each other, and make lasting contributions to the world. 

Mounting Society for Science events inspires passion and personal investment from staffers. Will Greer, Events and Coordination Associate says, “bringing together like-minded students from all over the country is really cool. To see them have these moments of belonging and get recognized for their hard work is a huge part of the experience, win or lose.” Maja Dziemianowicz, Director of Events and Operations succinctly hits on what’s special about Society for Science events: “my favorite thing about what we do is supporting and inspiring the next generation of STEM talent in this country.” 

Pulling off these rigorous competitions year-round requires lots of travel coordination and logistics. That’s where AmTrav helps. Administrative Assistant Susan Li works with the AmTrav team to coordinate meetings with Gather and says “The greatest benefit of AmTrav has been the efficient customer support. I personally use the chat a lot, and the Advisors are really helpful – just having Travel Advisors available has reduced the need for us to play go-between for our different events.”

Whether coordinating travel support for young attendees and their parents or staff, the AmTrav team is always there to troubleshoot. 

“We’ve definitely had attendees call or chat with support on the day of the event,” says Susan. “It's really great to have attendees contact an Advisor directly.”

Susan continues, “I appreciate how accommodating AmTrav is; they are willing to improve things or make changes according to our needs. As you know, we produce a lot of different events. It can be all over the place sometimes, and I appreciate the fact that your team has been able to work with us.”

While the organization’s travel budgets and policies are not particularly rigid, AmTrav supports Society for Science’s need to review and approve travel changes. Susan says: “People sometimes call AmTrav directly to make changes, and when that happens the Travel Advisors have been really good at reaching out to us for approval.” 

Society for Science also hosts teacher conferences, gathering hundreds of middle school and high school educators together. “These are teachers who live all across the U.S., in cities like Washington D.C. and New York City, to really rural areas,” says Maja. “Teachers recently flew to our conference from as far away as the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii.”

It helps that AmTrav Gather is so intuitive for travelers to book themselves. “The feedback we get from the folks using the site is that Gather is really simple and straightforward,” says Maja. Travelers agree, like Lee C. who said “I loved the ease with which I could choose my flight and have everything done for me – thanks for using this system!” and Wayne O. who said “Thank you for taking the hassles out of planning and implementing trip procedures.”

Arranging travel for students creates some interesting challenges, and the Society’s previous platform could only book one person at a time. That caused problems for students booked as unaccompanied minors even though they were traveling with their parents. The AmTrav booking tool is a distinct upgrade. Susan says: “The previous platform created so many headaches for us, we were always trying to figure that part out because it couldn’t put parents and kids together on the same booking.” 

Today with AmTrav the booking process and support throughout a traveler’s meeting experience is seamless. That means that Susan, Will, Maja, and the Society for Science team can focus on their commitment to nurturing curiosity, critical thinking, and scientific inquiry for future generations.