As a Tampa Bay native, Kalyn Sexton knows a thing or two about the beat of life here in the urban heart of Florida's west coast. She serves as a guide for the Tampa Downtown Partnership, helping visitors find their way around downtown, choose a restaurant for dinner or navigate their way to popular neighborhoods like Ybor City and Tampa Heights. Keep an eye out for her on patrol on the Tampa Riverwalk, Poe Plaza or anywhere else in the urban core. If you need help, she's here for you.

Who’s your hero and why?

My hero is God because without him in my life I wouldn’t be alive and able to go through all the trials I faced so far in my life.

What do you do for fun or hobby?

My hobby is helping others with different situations such as finding a job, transportation, getting out of debt, and so much more.

Tell me about your job.

My job is to help others either with directions, event information, things to do, help with parking, roadside assistance, etc.

What do you like about your job?

I enjoy helping others and I like the fact it is different every day.

How would your life be different without tourism?

If there wasn’t tourism my job would be very boring. 

What’s something people don’t know about your job?

Many people are unaware that we provide free roadside assistance.

What’s the funniest thing that has happened to you on the job?

The funniest thing that I can recall would be the Napoleon Wineamite Wine Festival in 2015 at Tampa Theatre. I had a picture taken with a ham and it was trying to get frisky – I think it had too much to drink.

What do you recommend your visitors do for fun when they come to Tampa Bay?

Well, I work downtown so I try to encourage people to do things downtown such as checking out the Tampa Bay History Center, which is my favorite museum, especially since I like history. I mainly ask what kind of things they are interested in doing or seeing and then I go from there so it depends on what they say to determine the best option for them.