Where Gabi is from

Sao Bernardo Do Campo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

 

Interview

What was your dream when you were a kid? What was the reason?

My dream was either to become an astronaut or a doctor. Astronaut because I was fanatic, I am still, fanatic and fascinated about the space, planets, stars. I always wonder if there is life out there. To become a doctor, was because my mom is a doctor and I was really influenced by her but also because I love the hospital environment.

 

What was your dream when you were 18 years old? What was the reason?

My dream was to become a professional ballet dancer. I used to be a ballet dancer in Brazil and I really wanted to be part of a big dance company such as American Ballet or the Royal Ballet in London.

 

What made you start thinking about social entrepreneurship/social enterprises? When was that?

In 2012 I went to one of the most important prizes in Brazil, “The Year Entrepreneur by Ernst & Young”. That was THE day I got fascinated and inspired by the social sector. Gisela Solymos, a wonderful and extremely powerful woman who has been leading amazing projects in Brazil, was the entrepreneur honored that night. She is a co-founder of CREN, a non-profit organization fighting against child malnutrition all around Brazil. After going to that event, I worked at CREN for almost 3 years, starting from being a simple volunteer to one of the women leading projects in the organization. I am proudand happy that such an amazing woman changed my life.

 

How much do you think social entrepreneurs play an important role in the world?

As much as I strongly believe they are the key to change the world into a better place to live.

 

What would you say to future social entrepreneurs / those who are interested in social entrepreneurs?

First find your passion, what you really love to do. Think about what makes you happy, what makes you feel complete. If you want to become a social entrepreneur, just connect what you love to people. Connect your passion to a better world!

 

What is your favorite quote? Who said that quote?

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” – Madre Teresa de Caucuta

“NO is always a guarantee.” -From my father

He always says this in order to encourage us to look after our dreams, to don’t be afraid about asking people, NO is always a guarantee, everything else will be a PLUS.

The world is SERENDIPITY. I believe the best things in life we will always find and experience when we are not looking for them.

 

Who Gabi is

Gabi is such a lovable person. Of course our classmates love her, but you should check her Facebook page. She is always, ALWAYS with her family and friends and shows us her beautiful smile.

While we were in San Francisco during the master’s program year, her friends came to visit her and she often introduced them to me and our classmates. I am pretty sure that Gabi’s friends came to see her because they thought that it was worth visiting Gabi.

Among MSEs (our classmates; Master of Social Entrepreneurship), Gabi was especially close with Andrea and Isabel and they were always laughing. They were connected with a strong tie. That is Gabi’s strength; she magnetizes others and they gathers around her. It is a unique power that not everyone can possess.

Personally, I like seeing that Gabi is smiling because it makes me happy.

 

Awesome Episode

Our school, Hult International Business School, has a rotation system, in which you can take classes in different campuses around the world and choose to graduate from there if you want.

Gabi rotated to London and graduated there. We have our WhatsApp group and she posted a photo with other MSEs that were in London on the WhatsApp group on graduation day. The gown that she was wearing looked nicer than ours in San Francisco and the graduation hall looked nicer than in San Francisco, so that made some of us who were in San Francisco very jealous.

Gabi had a full smile in the photo and looked good.

We missed Gabi on graduation day because we were not in the same country, but that showed us that even our graduation was very diverse, just as international as Hult International Business School.

 

The Power of MSE

What Gabi is holding is a symbol called “go-en(ご縁)”, which means ‘fate’, ’destiny’ and ’special tie.’

I believe that it is meant to be that we met in San Francisco! I studied Social Entrepreneurship with Gabi for a year, saying “We will make the world a better place.” I would love to spend the rest of my life with MSEs (Master of Social Entrepreneurship; my classmates) until the very day I die. They have already completely changed my life.

At the same time, however, I also think that we should not be together all the time, because that is not the reason why we learned Social Entrepreneurship. That is not how we will deliver the impact we want to give to society and to the world.

I think MSEs are like dandelions. We were seeded at the first day at Hult and we bloomed on our graduation day. Our mission is that we spread all over the world like dandelions and seed the future, the next generation, from each place where each of us has landed.

本当にありがとう(Honto ni Arigato-); Thank you very very much for everything!! The world needs you! Let’s make the world a better place together!!