Once someone said: "It's not who you know. It is the ones who they know the ones you know."
One of the countless stories of my precious circle of people is this one. Many years ago, an amazing fearless woman, Mona De Frawi, told me to dare. She is an inspirational role model in my life and I always seek to learn from her. Since that day, when Mona suggests something, I always go for it. A year ago she told me that I must meet Alora Frederick because she is awesome and was visiting Greece!
Alora and I met during the hot Athenian summer, at a breezy restaurant ending up spending more than two hours of unlimited talk and ideas sharing. Then we went out for dinner and kept in touch. Through our communication we are exploring common pathways for partnership and when the opportunity arises we invite each other to do amazing things. One of those invitations wanted me to be a speaker at G.o.A.L. Women’s Empowerment Network Conference at San Jose State University. It was a beautiful experience that brought me again to a group of people who are open to sharing their knowledge and appreciate the learning that is given from others. G.o.A.L was created exactly for this reason.
In 2016 Alora Frederick and Dr. Marilyn Easter Co-Founded the G.o.A.L. program at SJSU with the mission to assist in closing the achievement gap. Through this program, they provide leadership in developing an inclusive environment in which the underrepresented population of SJSU can build a community, work on improving curriculum goals, and ultimately become career ready.
How, then, do you create meaningful connections that lead to your advancement and meaningful friendships?
My suggestion would be just to pay attention to the people who cross your paths and open the space for listening to who they are and why they do what they do.
@Alora may our common path be long full of amazing impact work, good food, and lots of pleasant life moments!
xoxo Elpida