Writing down an idea is something that requires a lot of knowledge, creativity and will. Social Hackers Academy has its lucky to have Maro Samara in its Fundraising team as a Proposal Writer. But that’s not all. Every company needs individuals who know how to make an impact that will bring a beautiful climate into the company.
Maro has been a rockstar member of our team for a year so far. She brought so much to the table, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their contributions. In this blog post, we’ll dive into Maro’s background, her journey with our company, and some of her most notable achievements. It’s our hope that by sharing her story, we can showcase the incredible people who make up our team and the amazing things they’re capable of.
SHA: Hey, Maro. In our team, you are known as the Writer with great impactful ideas. How do you nurture this?
Maro: Writing down ideas is something that I have done since I can remember myself. I have years of practice in different writing forms. In writing impactful fundraising proposals, you need to be updated, adaptable and persuasive. These traits are nurtured by doing a lot of research, making many mistakes and implementing a lot of feedback.
SHA: Tell us more about yourself. Where do you come from? How was your educational journey through the years?
Maro: I am an incubating physicist from Greece with experiences in different domains like science, sports and arts.
SHA: How did you first become involved in fundraising, and what were your first impressions?
Maro: My first experience basically was with Social Hackers Academy and it was really intense; I had to learn many things and implement them in a short period of time.
SHA: How do you feel being a part of the Social Hackers Academy mission?
Maro: I am grateful to be part of a multicultural team and community of talented people full of willingness to improve themselves and help others.
SHA: How do you keep up learning and developing professionally?
Maro: I don’t stop reading, trying new methods, communicating with my colleagues and asking for feedback to get better.
SHA: What is Leadership for you?
Maro: Leadership, for me, is a state of mind. Many people confuse leadership with a manager title. However, leadership starts from within, and it is triggered in different circumstances, ages and places. The truth about leadership is that we’re all doing it, but we’re not all doing it to our full potential. It is how you choose to behave and act towards the willingness to create an impact.
SHA: You also study Physics. How do you manage your work-life balance?
Maro: It is difficult, I am not gonna lie. To be honest, I was about to quit my studies for many reasons, but watching our students being so motivated and hardworking to me. I have to say that although it is stressful and exhausting to balance studies and work in a weird way, one feeds my motivation for the other and back.
SHA: How do you prioritise and manage your workload as a Proposal Writer / Project Manager?
Maro: At the end of the day, these two professional identities are basically one procedure: research- write – implement- improve-repeat. Time management and priorities come with the urgency of a task basically, and in time you learn to foresee this before it becomes urgent.
SHA: What have you learned about yourself and life through your work as Proposal Writer?
Maro: I have a good base of organizational skills, and it is essential to learn how to ask for help in order to save time and energy.
SHA: What excites you most and fills your energy batteries?
Maro: Mindful conversations and the sea
SHA: As humans, we have our values. Which is yours?
Maro: Integrity, fairness and honesty
SHA: Do you always need to have a specific goal in your life, or are you just going with the flow?
Maro: It is a mix. For me, it works to set goals to know the overall direction but not get obsessed with them because you forget to enjoy the journey. So the flow is good at some points.
SHA: What is success for you? Is success something that can be achieved through teamwork or individualism?
Maro: Success is to do your best every day, and this best may be different each day. We all have difficult days, and then we need someone to cover for us the missing per cent. One day we will cover with our extra per cent, so I would say in the big picture, it is teamwork.
SHA: Since we are a coding school if you only had three words for motivation to share with those who want to start a coding journey or change careers, what would they be?
Maro: Enjoy rebuilding yourselves
SHA: What’s your favourite quote that you always come back to it?
Maro: “I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions” – Augusten Burroughs
We enjoyed this conversation a lot. How others think, learn and act was our priority from always as a Coding School. We learned a lot from Maro, and we hope we will have more grateful and beautiful times working together with such a person as she is.