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LCC International University > News and Events > Valentina Rusnac: Don't take the same path that everyone else does

Valentina Rusnac: Don't take the same path that everyone else does

2021-10-07

Valentina Rusnac, from Moldova, has graduated from LCC International University in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. It was her second degree in the field of Psychology. This subject is one of the main passions that she could identify, and for this reason, she was planning to get her Master’s degree in the same field of study. She firstly tried in Canada and then in Austria, but after a few times of planning to get an additional degree, she changed her outlook towards the path that she was on.

“It was the third attempt to do the Master’s. I was again accepted, but that was the moment when I actually understood that everyone has their own path, and it’s not necessary to have a Master’s degree, it’s not necessary to follow the same rules as everybody else does, so I just accepted my personal experience.”

After taking this new path in life, she tried herself in several areas. She started as a PR manager in a business center, then was freelancing, copywriting. Later on, she applied for a job in marketing, even though she did not have any experience in that field, yet managed to convince the employer that she is passionate, hard-working, and willing to learn, so she got the job. After that, she changed her job into a Marketing Director for a restaurant chain, and later got employed in another company, where she stayed and still works up till today.

One of the things that Valentina appreciates about LCC is servant leadership. She shares: “When I graduated, I remember this nice moment when the professors were giving you flowers and clapping. You should understand, nobody else will do it in your life. It was the best experience of my life. I never had this servant leadership. And you will not experience it anywhere else.” She notes that professors at LCC foster and treasure the students, but one needs to readjust to the outer world, once they graduate.

Her current position and workplace are similar to what LCC looks like – it is very international and Valentina’s boss actually has similar views towards work as people at LCC do.

When presenting Maslow’s Pyramid in practice, Valentina emphasizes not to look at other people’s lives and what they do, and just focus on your own life and path. The first tip that she gives is getting to know who you are. After that, she shares that it is okay to fail and that everyone needs to define what they mean by "success" as it is different for everyone, just as the paths in life that they take. One more thing that she learned in life and now is sharing with us is that “life is not black and white,” meaning that people should be flexible in what they do, and not stick to one thing by convincing themselves that it is the right thing to do because everyone else is doing it. Next, she notes that the things that people do, they should do for themselves. By giving this tip, she explains that the trifle tasks, such as writing papers or submitting exams are usually more important for you at the moment, but they are not as significant for the big picture, and especially others. But we should not underestimate the knowledge that we get from it or any other activity that we do as it should be important for self-development.

Valentina names her next tip as “Squeeze the best out of LCC.” She advises the current LCC students to use most of what LCC has to offer: from the ability to learn the languages to how to be nice to people.

And finally, she notes and truly emphasizes, to stay healthy. She shares: “In order to succeed in anything you need to acknowledge everything you are going through. You need to acknowledge your 5 physiological needs. So, whenever you are going to apply for a job, never forget that first of all, your basic needs are coming first.”

Even though Valentina her whole professional life has worked in a business field, she still would not change her degree in psychology into anything else. She admits that the knowledge that she has helped her a lot in her current field of marketing, mainly because she is working with people, therefore, she needs to know how to best work with them and match their needs for their success at the workplace. Hence, she appreciates the liberal arts aspect of LCC and admits that such people who have studied in similar colleges are interesting and, even, easier to spot.

One other useful thing that Valentina mentions is thinking about the plans after LCC at the beginning of the senior year when the students are writing their theses. During the time of writing a thesis, the students emerge themselves in the study and research and gain a lot more knowledge.

Valentina’s advice for the current and prospective LCC students is to look for small, and unique universities because they are the ones that will offer a different experience than the big colleges. LCC in this case is small, yet a growing place, which truly nurtures its students throughout their whole experience of their studies.

Listen to the full webinar here: https://youtu.be/I73HBZnprdQ

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