Sandra has worked for almost 20 years in digital communications – first as a freelance consultant, then in the communication departments for many European Union institutions and others organizations across Europe. She is passionate about knowledge management, adult education, and IT as a tool for democracy, transparency, and participation. Since 2013 she has been based…
Valentina Brega is the owner of TLC Language Center in Chisinau, Moldova. The center provides English courses to adults. Valentina graduated from Wofford College in South Carolina, USA in 2009, majoring in Finance and German. Over the past two years I have had the pleasure of consulting for TLC Language Center and building a strong professional relationship with…
Abayomi Ogundipe is the co-founder of TEKEDU, which is empowering institutionalized children for inclusive ICT education and development in Moldova. I have worked with Abayomi over the past year and become motivated by his outstanding efforts with TEKEDU. He has a knack for networking with Moldovan professionals, harnessing IT and business development talent, and is an excellent…
I have now served two years in Moldova as a small enterprise development volunteer with the Peace Corps. Social media has been the key instrument for marketing and advertisement of any of the institutions, programs, or projects I have worked on, but particularly Facebook. I utilize it to create pages and events; post videos, pictures,…
Today we celebrated Paștile Blajinilor (Memorial Easter) in Moldova. In the spirit of the holiday my host mother Rima gave me this thoughtful bowl of sweets in memory of my grandparents on this day. She told me that the gift was in honor of each one and that I should take a moment to remember their…
Thank you to an incredible network of donors from the U.S. and an active local community, the city of Leova was able to raise enough funds to refurbish the local basketball court behind the Russian school. The project took six months to complete and was accomplished primarily through crowdfunding donations on Indiegogo from personal contacts. An amazing…
Playing basketball with the guys one day after work, I was approached by Alex. He and I were acquaintances through a family I spent quite a bit of time with in town. He waltzed over to me on the court and asked if I could help him to improve his English. Based on trial and error, I…
Relationships are construed as finite. They are not. Instead, they need to be viewed as muscles. In order to strengthen them, they need to be flexed and worked continuously. Sometimes working them hurts, but pain does bring pleasure. It took me 26 years to learn this. I have always viewed relationships in my personal and…
It is crazy just how lost I became in this week. Coming in from Moldova, I had a plan to structure each one of my days around the trainings and knowledge I could extract from each topic. I wanted to meet as many participants as possible and discover their skill sets. Something special happened. I…
Standing by the food table at the University of ASEM in Chisinau, Moldova, I was making a tough decision on whether to choose a potato or cheese pastry (infamously known in Eastern Europe as placinta) when I came upon two high school students with great smiles on their faces. Those two were Tamara Ceaicovschi and…
Since June 2012, I have embarked on an incredible professional, cultural, and personal journey. The decision has given me so much strength in all three domains of life, which I felt were weak upon departure from Chicago. More than halfway done with the four year program (which started at the University of South Carolina and…
This past fall and winter the community of Leova, Moldova and I built a basketball court for the kids in our city. Due to the lack of extracurricular activities, problems with drugs and alcohol, countless hours spent online, and apathy amongst children we decided it was time for a change. We did not have sufficient…
Planul de afaceri perfect este un mit. Scopul lui este de identifica un plan de realizare a ideii înainte de a pierde toate resursele. Nu elaborați doar ideea și uitați de ea ca de un raport de 20 de pagini. Construiți ipoteze, ieșiti in teren, și testați ideea dvs. Bine ați venit la Lean Canvas!…
On November 13, 2013 my business partner and I held a 1.5 hour training for 25 local high school students on communication and negotiation skills. The first segment detailed proper communication skills when interviewing with an employer, greeting someone in business, and negotiating terms of a business deal. From the start I felt these topics…
Dupa ați creat un cont de email puteți merge mai departe cu un cont de Facebook. Odată folosită că platformă de comunicare printre prietenii la universitate, Facebook dezvolta pentru toata lumea să utilezeze. Chiar întrprenderi mari, mijolcii, și mici crea pagini de afaceri pe Facebook să comunice cu clienții potentiali! Pentru dumneavoastră hai să incepem…
De ce este email important? De fapt, email este unul din cele mai repede, cele mai eficiente, și cele mai folosite metode de comunicare în lumea (mai ales în afaceri). Cred că majoritatea din voi aveți un calculator sau un mobil cu internet. Dar, știți toate programele și instrumentele care puteți utiliza cu el? Mai…
I had been struggling through college and thereafter to limit the distractions in my life and find true direction. It was not that I was an epic failure by the least. I managed to earn high marks in college, dedicate myself to all responsibilities, and make financial ends meet. The one thing I did not…
A project which started in the cold, frosty month of February in the capital of Moldova is now receiving its finishing touches as eight volunteers of the Peace Corps in Moldova, otherwise known as the (self-proclaimed) Dream Team, will collaborate with 20 government and business officials to put together the event titled Storytellers. The event will…
Over the past three months, I have been working with a local entrepreneur who is growing a quail egg and meat production business in a poor village in the southern region of Moldova. He came to us at Incubatorul de Afaceri Leova in order to receive financial assistance through a small financial grant program managed by…
Peace Corps The first motivating factor of my decision to look into graduate school programs was directly linked to our organization, the Peace Corps. In June 2010 after graduating from DePaul University in 2009 and accepting my first job with Vibes Media in Chicago, I realized that I wanted to serve others, learn a new…
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