Alumni Association of Lakehead University

Alumni Profile: Patrick Brunelle

By Maureen Arges Nadin

The 28 year old owner and Chief Operations Officer of the Costa Rican based travel agency, “Exclusive X-Cursions Travel”, Patrick Brunelle hardly seems old enough to have achieved all that he has to this point in his life. But the combination of hard work, focus, some good old fashioned luck and a tendency to be somewhat driven ( “I don’t really know what it is to relax.”) have proven to be a winning formula for this young entrepreneur and Lakehead University graduate. 

Patrick graduated from Lakehead University in 2003 with a BA/BEd majoring in French.   Being a Francophone and fully bilingual, he had a distinct advantage in the job market and began teaching immediately after graduation. His first full time teaching assignment was a Grade 8 class at Franco Superior but by his second year, Patrick was promoted to being in charge of the alternative education program at the new Francophone high school. His intrinsic desire to help others, and youth in particular, guided Patrick in his work teaching youth who were at risk of dropping out of high school. One of his greatest rewards during this time was seeing students being able to work within their own timelines but still graduate and achieve success.

“I am a teacher “, he says. “I consider myself more of a teacher than a businessman.”

Patrick taught from 2003 to 2005 and he is passionate in pointing out that he did not leave teaching because it wasn’t for him. But a larger purpose was beckoning and he found that his interest in seeing the world and helping to make a difference had never left him. Patrick had been particularly moved by the situation in Rwanda and had always wanted to volunteer there in some capacity. When the agency that he applied to felt that his youth and lack of life experience might put him at risk, he set about to find another overseas assignment. He subsequently registered with “Teach Overseas” and found a position in Morocco. However, Patrick started to have second thoughts when the rules of the country’s culture were laid out to him. Although he could accept without difficulty the restriction on drinking or taking drugs, the remaining two rules, no engaging in political activity and no dating, were a bit more challenging for this politically minded and socially responsible single young man. 

Patrick remained committed to accepting the position in Morocco, thinking that the challenge of adapting to such a radically different culture would enhance the adventure and personal growth. But when he accepted a Costa Rican Canadian friend’s invitation to spend March break in Costa Rica, his passion was quickly redirected.

“From the moment I got there to the moment I left,” he says “it was just a love affair with the country.” From there, he made the difficult decision to decline the position in Morocco and move to Costa Rica instead, where he already had developed a network of friends. He knew that he would have to find a situation for himself and although there were plentiful jobs to be had  in the online gambling industry, Patrick was not willing to compromise the importance of working in something that he loves and cares about. So he set about taking a long and hard look at what else the lush and beautiful Central American country had to offer.

He didn’t have to look far. Patrick recalls being “blown away” by how much there is to see and do in Costa Rica and he became quickly convinced that this was something he needed to tell the world about. The concept of a small travel agency was developed shortly thereafter and Patrick found himself in a three way partnership with his Costa Rican friend, Marco, and a Canadian partner. Their initial vision was to create and market travel packages specifically geared to colleges and universities. The young entrepreneurs took on a fourth partner, Marco’s cousin, who brought the technological skills and expertise that provided the impetus to get the company up and running online, where most of their business is conducted.

The first year for “Exclusive X-Cursions” was slow and Patrick supplemented his income by going back to the profession that was his first love, teaching English. He spent his first 6 months in Costa Rica learning Spanish “on the streets” of the village where he lived and he is now proudly trilingual. 

The company’s website was fully launched in 2006 and since then, Patrick says “The growth has been phenomenal—beyond my wildest dreams.”  He is especially proud of the fact that his agents and staff are people who live in Costa Rica and know the country. Combined with the Canadian brand of very personalized customer service that he brings to the table, Patrick feels that what Exclusive X-Cursions offers cannot be matched by other travel agencies. 

“What we offer is only Costa Rica. We don’t offer travel anywhere else.” he points out. And the in depth personalized service comes from people who live and work only in Costa Rica.

Future plans for this flourishing venture include enhancing the local Costa Rican market by offering team building adventures for employees as well as weekend trips for corporate customers. But the dedicated and passionate teacher that was developed at Lakehead University’s Faculty of Education is still very much alive in Patrick’s soul. Working in concert with another English teacher who has settled in Costa Rica, Patrick is in the process of developing an English language school for Costa Rican students. Although his travel business consumes a tremendous amount of time, Patrick is currently working on ordering books and developing the curriculum and is hopeful that the school could be up an running as early as May 2009.

Patrick relaxes when he is able to by participating in the same activities that he promotes to his clients, rafting, canopying and enjoying the tropical delights of Costa Rica’s spectacular scenery. Gregarious and people loving, he chuckles as he tells me that he gets to share people’s adventures of a lifetime when friends and family visit and he takes them around.

“Every time someone comes down” he says. “I need to take them on a trip” But the irony is not lost on him and Patrick is well aware that that he is living a life style that many people would envy.

But his more serious and thoughtful nature is illustrated in the quote that he offers as a reflection of his personal philosophy: “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” Henry David Thoreau.

For Patrick Brunelle, there is a lot of life yet to come and with his zest for life combined with a genuine desire to help people, his story is just beginning.

Patrick can be contacted through his Exclusive X-Cursions website at http://costa-rica-travel-and-vacations.com/”.