I’m a junior at Tulane University, and am serving as a student ambassador for Horizon to get some community building and marketing experience in the tech startup world.

Why do I care?

I first heard about Horizon through my work over this summer, reading real estate blog posts. I stumbled upon an article on Geek Estate written by Drew, a travel addict who used to work at Zillow. When I first heard about Horizon and their mission to increase travel opportunities worldwide, I was a little skeptical. It sounded a little too good to be true. However, after doing some reading on Drew and the private hospitality networks project, I knew I wanted to be involved at the ground level and help fellow Tulane students hear about this exciting app to revolutionize access to travel.

Why am I excited for Horizon?

This is a question posed to me by everyone I have spoken with about the app. The simple answer is that it’s awesome. I’m from Los Angeles, so I fly to New Orleans for school and back home at least twice a year. That means I have a massive amount of airline miles at my disposal. Other than between home and school, I’m pretty limited in terms of traveling and seeing the world. For many college students, the only option is to study abroad, but that isn’t really what I want to do. I want to go to a city, stay for a week with someone I know or am connected with by an organization, then move onto experience another city.

Where will I go and how can I find a cheap place to stay?

That’s why I’m so excited about this app. It combines the best aspects of Facebook, LinkedIn and CouchSurfing, so you can stay with trusted contacts the app helps you discover or re-connect with. In addition, after your stay, you have the option to say thanks by donating to the organization that brought you two together (“Travel by Giving”). Seriously, that’s it. Sort your trusted contacts and group members by location, find a friend, and then get on the road!

Want to hear more? For Tulane students and alumni, visit horizonapp.co/Tulane, or contact me at mhill4@tulane.edu for a more specific rundown and information on how to become one of the first beta testers.