McLean Native Seeks Australia 'Funster' Job

Jane Chiao was one of more than 46,000 applicants who submitted 30-second videos in a Tourism Australia contest to find a “Chief Funster” to travel and promote events.

To her surprise, the McLean native is now one of 25 shortlisted candidates. Tourism Australia will choose three people to interview as it continues its search for the winner.

The job, Chiao told Patch, would be a dream come true.

“I love traveling,” she said. “I moved around a lot when I was young. I love planning random, fun things that bring people together, so I think it’s a perfect fit.”

Chiao, 26, graduated from McLean High School 2005 and now lives in New York City, where she works in finance and sales. When she received an email about the contest, she thought it would be “very cool and be a life-changing experience.”

Her video included descriptions of her writing on food and sustainability on PolicyMic, a website for young people, and succeeding in having the audience of the Colbert Report do the Harlem Shake for the video. The Colbert Report video was not broadcast but was made an online exclusive, Chiao said. She later returned to the show and had her photo taken with Stephen Colbert in support of her contest application.

Tourism Australia is also holding a contest for "Outback Adventurer.” The jobs come with a stipend of $105,400.