Where Mariela is from

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Interview

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

I wanted to become a heart sergon. I loved helping people and make them feel better.

 

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

At that time the doctor part was over (too much chemistry classes needed) ☺ I wanted to become a business woman with a lot of resources. The same reason as above – I wanted to be able to help as many people as possible and to solve bigger problems than my own.

 

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

It happened naturally and I don’t know when exactly.

 

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

I think that this type of people are a rare finding, but that’s ok. Even though we are so few, we can make the biggest different in the world. This is because our drivers come from the people who are suffering and we desparate want to help them. So, yes, I think we are the one’s who are going to change the world into something better.

 

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

Things might get tough from time to time, but this gives us even more reasons to keep doing what we are doing. In other words: Never give up your dreams!

 

What is your favorite quote? Who said that quote?

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful” – Joshua Marine

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa

I really don’t have a favorite, but these two I like and support. ☺

 

Who Mariela is

Mariela is a smart, clever and wise person. Her remarks in our classes stood out and made each class valuable for us. But what I like about her is that she is always positive about anything. Mariela is smiling, laughing and bringing positive vibes around her, like spreading a yellow aura around her.

Mariela like jokes. I think that our personalities are similar (I smell it) so our conversations contain jokes and sometimes both of us put the main subject aside during our conversations and end up making each other laugh. I love being with her and talking to her because it is simply fun and I have lots to learn from her.

Mariela has beautiful green eyes, and these beautiful and clear eyes reflect what is inside of her; a clear heart. She treats anyone equally, helps anyone without reason and listens to others seriously. It is said that eyes indicate one’s personality. It is true. When you meet Mariela and look at her eyes, you do not need my words to know about her, but you will see how beautiful she is on the inside, just as she is on the outside.

 

Awesome Episode

It was at the MSE Retreat that Camilo and Alison organized. We separated several teams to cook meals and Mariela and I were in the same group for making dinner. While we were making it together, Mariela told me that eggs could not be crushed in a hand. It makes sense because eggs are essential materials which seed the next generation. They should not be broken easily. So, I tried to crush an egg…and it exploded in my hand. To make matters worse, the yolk landed on my face and head — I was soaked with the yolk. I can still recall the moment that the yolk was coming toward me, like in slow motion.

I guess that the egg was going bad, but I still think that Mariela set me up because she was LAUGHING OUT LOUD for a long time after seeing that catastrophe. It was actually fun and we agreed that that was one of our favorite moments at the MSE Retreat.

 

The Power of MSE

What Mariela 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 Mariela 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!!