Viktorija Daineko: A distinguished LCC alumna discusses her career journey to a global social-media giant
2021-01-07
Viktorija Daineko graduated from LCC International University in 2006, with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Literature. She served as an active member of the LCC community, first as a student but later also as an employee. After her graduation, Viktorija spent ten years at LCC as a Senior Admissions Counselor recruiting students worldwide to explore the unique experience of studying there. Over the last few years, Viktorija gained extensive experience working with various social media platforms and recently joined one of the most popular social-media giants, TikTok, as a model-optimization specialist.Initially, Vikrorija transferred from another university to LCC and enrolled in the English and Literature program. From the first moment she set foot on LCC’s campus she was captivated by its atmosphere and the people she met. “As soon as I entered the building,” Viktorija recalled, “I had a feeling that it was the right place for me.” Despite the challenges she faced during her student years, Viktorija described many warm memories of being part of the unique LCC community. “The best part of being an LCC student was the amount of support and respect I received not only from my peers, but from professors as well. They treated students with such kindness and were always eager to help with both academic and personal struggles,” she added.During her senior year, Viktorija found a part-time job working as a manager in the administration office of UAB Termomontažas. After graduation, she continued working at UAB for another year but then decided to return to LCC as an employee. Viktorija began by working as an admissions counselor and loved the experience of encouraging students from various countries to join the LCC community. “I was so proud to represent this place which is so much more than just a university. It was the kind of job that I looked forward to doing every morning”, said Viktorija. With a short break for maternity leave, she worked at LCC for an entire decade and cherished every moment spent with her family-like coworkers.Viktorija’s involvement with the media began in 2013, after she and her husband moved to Dublin, Ireland. Initially, Viktorija had a challenging time finding work but after countless interviews, she accepted a position as a customer service representative at the global services company Arvato Finance. There she gained valuable experience working with the Google platform. However, the move to a new country proved very hard for Viktorija and after three months, she returned to Lithuania where she resumed working for LCC International University. A year later, after a second maternity leave, she moved to Ireland for good. Because of her previous experience working with Google, Viktorija quickly found a job in the social-media sphere. She began her journey at Accenture, a company that provides numerous professional services, including operations and security, as a trust and safety associate/content reviewer for the YouTube social-media platform. “I enjoyed working at YouTube, gaining new skills and knowledge about the way social-media operates, but I decided it was time to move on to something bigger, and more challenging,” commented Viktorija. She soon started a full-time job as a community operations analyst at the global business consulting company Covalen Solutions where she provided services for Facebook. Every new experience in the media sphere led Viktorija to the place where she is now - working as a model optimization specialist for the trending social-media platform, Tik Tok. Her passion and desire to be an expert in whatever she does is admirable. In addition, Viktorija believes that social media is not primarily challenging, but is actually fascinating, especially when each media platform offers you something unique, something you did not need before but now can not live without. “I think it is a huge privilege to be aware of the insights of most major media platforms, but also to understand how they operate and co-exist with one another”.Besides being a full-time employee, a wife, and a mom, Viktorija is also growing a small business that started as a hobby. She produces a variety of natural, handcrafted cosmetics and, as a side benefit, finds it to be a therapeutic relief from her busy life. At some point, she intends to take her passion for handcrafting to another level, and develop it into something bigger than just a small side business. Currently, she is taking skincare courses online and studying to become more professional in her new sphere of interest.Looking back at her diverse experience as a social media specialist, and both an LCC student and an employee, Viktorija shared these words of advice with LCC students: “Always be passionate about your work, and enjoy it! Do not miss out on any open doors on your way, and be grateful for every experience you receive in life. Do things that interest you and make you question everything you know. Do not be afraid of changes or the unknown because you have your whole life ahead of you, and never stop learning and growing both personally and professionally along the way.”
