Vacation.com, as part of an effort to attract younger talent to the travel industry, has partnered with two of its agency owners, Sherrie and Charlie Funk, and Royal Caribbean International to host four high school teachers aboard the May 5, 2012, sailing of Oasis of the Seas during Vacation.com’s 14th annual conference.

The four teachers represent two of Nashville’s hospitality academies -- Antioch High School Academy of Hospitality and Gaylord Entertainment Academy of Hospitality at McGavock High School. Similar academies have been developed across the nation under the guidance of the National Career Academy Coalition. They will have unprecedented access to a wealth of travel experts and suppliers aboard the world’s largest cruise ship as a way to help them develop new course material for their students.

“Vacation.com is thrilled to bring these teachers on board,” said Vacation.com President John Lovell. “The real-life industry experience we’re providing the teachers is knowledge they’ll be able to take back to their students to encourage them to get excited about a career in travel. As an organization, we are committed to attracting young professionals as the future of our exciting industry.”

Over this week’s cruise, the teachers -- Brooks Bowers, Amanda Davoli, Amy Jamison and Scott Miller -- will experience the behind-the-scenes work involved with putting on the industry’s largest event aboard the world’s largest and most innovative cruise ship in the world. They also will be able to network with the many of the travel agents onboard and learn about industry through their experience on a Royal Caribbean ship.

Vacation.com members Sherrie and Charlie Funk, owners of Just Cruisin’ Plus in Nashville, chair an advisory board for the hospitality academies of Nashville. The couple has invested their time in those academies in order to support the ongoing viability of the travel agency industry and assist the teachers to reach their goal of teaching high school students about the benefits of hospitality, tourism, the travel agency business and the travel industry as a whole.

“Like Vacation.com, we truly believe in bringing young people into the industry,” said Sherrie Funk. “It’s a passion of ours that has grown over the years and we couldn’t be more excited to educate our local students through these teachers, and the support of Vacation.com and Royal Caribbean International.”