BBA Alumna, Class 2015
Founder of Learn IT coding school, EU Code Week ambassador in Latvia.

It’s never too late to follow your professional and personal goals. Step-by-step, with the help of mentors and the right people around you, you can achieve goals you thought were impossible initially.

I am most proud of founding Learn IT coding school, which offers coding courses for children and educators in Latvia. In seven years, together with colleagues, I have organized multiple hackathons, teacher trainings, and social campaigns with tech companies to equip children with 21st-century skills.

Since I was nine years old, I have been passionate about horse riding and dreamt of becoming a professional equestrian. For three years, I intensively trained and participated in numerous horse-riding competitions.

I’d like to improve my Spanish and take three months off to travel through South America and volunteer in the education field.

My goal is to complete a master’s degree in educational technology this semester at Old Dominion University in the United States. I am currently working on a research paper about instructional strategies for Computer Science teachers in delivering a programming module at the primary school level in Latvia.

I take care of my mental and physical health by regularly running and hiking in Latvian nature. Once a year, I travel outside of Latvia to explore new cultures and discover the different ways that people see and experience the world.

When feeling overwhelmed with my work or studies, I try to break the task into smaller chunks and remind myself why the task is essential. Also, I reach out to colleagues, mentors, and advisors to get an independent view of the problem or challenge I am experiencing.

I am now reading a book, “Why” by Simon Sinek, about practical steps on finding the purpose in personal life and business to achieve outstanding results. I’d suggest reading Tim Collin’s book “Good to Great”  for  those committed to leading any type of organization. 

My recent discovery is Mendeley, the desktop reference management app, to save, organize, cite, and reference journal articles. 

Mobile apps I have found beneficial:

• IOS notes app to save lists, thoughts, scan and edit documents 
• Slack or Discord app for communication with teammates 
• Maps.me for offline maps when travelling to countries without internet access 
• Revolut app for easy money transfers and tracking monthly expenses