"I think Germany is a great destination for higher education and career. There are plenty of opportunities with many leading companies and start-ups in different sectors. I would advise future Master’s students to combine study with work because they can apply their classroom learnings in their jobs. I would also advise students to learn German from day one. That will make their social and professional lives way better. If you go for internship, do not be afraid of trying your hand at new fields. It may help you define what you like best and gain a broad overview of how businesses function."
I´m currently coordinating the Twitter sales team in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Central America. Advertising represents the majority of Twitter’s revenue (around 89%). Working in sales, I feel that I am an important gear in this business. When I see the platform reflecting the world’s opinion in real time and how it plays an important role in giving everyone a voice, my motivation soars.
Studying at Macromedia and specifically in Munich was a challenging experience that taught me to demand more of myself and think bigger. It was a combination of three factors: meeting inspiring people like Professor Kolo and Professor Englert, being close to dynamic start-up ecosystems, and the talented and competitive classmates I had.
I had numerous interviews with big corporates like Allianz, Sky and BMW for internships. Inadequate German skills were often an issue. Fortunately, I received an offer from Edarling, a start-up in Berlin, which was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to live in Berlin half of the week and in Munich during the other half – two very different worlds. My boss spoke to me in German from day one which helped me improve my German. I was working in the finance team and had the opportunity to interact with the CEO regularly. This experience was key in helping me understand that I thrive in fast-paced companies with flat hierarchies and an international environment.
When I was in Latvia for an internship, I met my then girlfriend who is German. Because I was also looking for a Master’s programme, it made complete sense to come to Germany. I found that Macromedia’s programme was the most suitable one for me because it offered English programmes that combined management with media and communication. The faculty line-up was looking promising, and Munich’s energy seemed to say, “This stage of your life is going to be hard, but worthwhile”.
The first time I got the internship I applied for was a magical moment for me. I was looking forward to putting all the classroom learning to practice to prove myself in a competitive working environment – all of this, while I was studying at Macromedia. Though it was a short experience, the results have really paid off.
I have gone through many experiences where change has been difficult at the beginning, messy in the middle and fabulous in the end. I have had the chance to experience change over and over in my life as I moved from country to country. I embrace it, because in tech-business that I work in, change is constant and drives reinvention and improvement in yourself and others. So, there is no need to fear it.
Innovative companies will always try to find ways to makes lives easier: to save our time at the bank, to quickly resolve customer issues with using a Chatbot or to enable us to rent a car in our pyjamas. Digital change is wonderful, but it must support human growth, quality of life and mental health. I think that we need to push for a simplified life and digital transformation is doing its homework for it, but we need parallel efforts and investment on our inner self and to support each other to be humane.
Currently, I think I can still make a lot of positive impact in Latin America while enriching myself with the experiences that travel and living in different culture grant. I would like to come back to Europe at some point, but I feel that there is a lot of growth opportunities for me at Twitter in the upper level and I would like to continue here. As an ambitious person, I feel that being closer to tech hubs like NY or San Francisco could help me to have more influence on this sector. So, those places may be my next station before setting my way back to Europe.