How one spark can light up a chain reaction | Meet the Team: Anna Alvarenga
In today’s article, we follow up with the stories and “edventures” of our team members. We want you to get to know our Marketing Lead and Content Creator, Anna Alvarenga, her social impact journey and how she became a part of our team.
Annas’ journey started in Middle School where an innate desire to work in service for her community, came through volunteer work. Because she grew up in a third-world country, Brazil, Anna experienced working as a volunteer as the moment where her perceptions shifted. Seeing people in difficult situations did not deter her, but pushed her to a place where she felt, she could make a difference in people’s lives.
At the age of 14, being exposed to working in service for the community built such a desire in her that quickly became a part of the woman she is today. It was at a young age that Anna was introduced to the Interact Club in 2013. Interact Clubs are an important branch of the greater Rotary youth programs that invite students between ages 12 and 18 to get important chances to develop leadership skills while also focusing on the Rotary credo of “Service-Above-Self.” These are a place where teenagers can come together and work in community outreach programmes that aid in the betterment of an individual experience.
This was Anna’s first interaction with the effect of Social Impact and it became a space where she was exposed to how playing an active role in the success of the club, ultimately meant the improvement of a community. Being given the opportunity to use their own initiative and the added responsibility without the authoritative aspect, planted a seed that was just about to be watered within her.
Once Anna was in, she was hooked and stayed in the club for her entire teen years. Within this period, she moved swiftly from member to secretary of the club and inevitably took the lead as president. This role came with several responsibilities such as Public Relations as well as the overall image of the club.
One of her highlights during this period is when she had the opportunity to aid a rural middle school in the Brazilian countryside. Her run as president of the club, allowed the group to gain funding and have the opportunity to surprise them with a ‘Secret Santa’ experience. For the first time, in a long while, these children felt as though they were worth being remembered at Christmas.
Right after these valuable experiences in her teens, Anna chose to find ways to continue this journey through her university studies. It was at that point she was introduced to the big brother of the Interact called Rotaract Club which consisted of young adults ranging from ages 18 to 35. They covered a wider net of responsibilities but kept in mind the realities of people’s lives. Here, Anna had the opportunity to meet people from all around the world, granted exposure to a myriad of leadership lessons and prospects, and most importantly networking experiences with a more diverse audience.
At the age of 18, Anna started her bachelor’s studies, in Social Communications with a minor in Journalism, at the Federal University of Viçosa. During these times, she had the opportunity to start volunteering at the university radio, participating in a weekly show called “New Game” along with her classmates. Also, was at that time that she started working as a content creator, developing her own blog. Her ability to be able to share experiences through words became her superpower, highlighted by an internship at an online magazine. This milestone in her journey allowed her to implement what she learnt in leadership at the Interact Club, which saw her transition swiftly from intern to her new role as editor. In this leadership role, she oversaw a myriad of writers and content creators, running campaigns and learning each day the value of her own voice and the importance of communicating ideas well through your voice.
In her own time, Anna began exploring the idea of creating her content on YouTube, which eventually translated into a professional career where her audience wanted to live her travel journeys with her. This was the moment when she started truly realising the value of her gifting. Out of the need to aid people and share a story, she began directing herself toward becoming a full-time content creator. Bit by bit, she grew and gained an ever-increasing audience that constantly reached out to her. This is when she began playing with the idea of becoming her own boss. Anna realised that it did come with its own obstacles and hurdles, however, not a complete roadblock. With access to multiple forms of knowledge products online, it is still difficult to streamline and channel an individual’s growth. Through Edventures, Anna sees her journey of working with the team at Edventures as an opportunity to be at the growing end of an organisation.
Anna’s experiences have furthermore lit a spark and fuelled her hunger to make an impact in people’s lives that will add increasing value. In addition to this, the influence of these organisations in her growing journey directed her right to the steps of Edventures.
Starting her journey with Edventures in March 2022, she took on a role as Content Creator. Within two months, Anna quickly transitioned into the role of Marketing Lead where she took on more responsibilities. She began communicating the brand to a wider audience and deciphering how best to portray Edventures.
Anna is a strong believer in Edventures, and our ideas, values and mission, she believes that our team has the means to make an impact and bring change. Incorporating existing mediums is one of the more crucial steps along with using social media and blogging, where she can sound the positive aspects and map out the growth to each potential audience, in her own words:
“…if you’re not shown, you’re not remembered…”
Anna’s innate view on the impact one’s actions can have on an individual or a community, coupled with her journey overall, solidifies her approach that if she can do something that’s going to help other people, that will help anyone stay out of a bubble of ignorance, she will do it. With a background where, despite living in a country in the throws of imbalance and unending bureaucracy, she feels privileged to have access to education and a wide range of experiences.
For her, Edventures narrows down and brings on an opportunity to give an end user exactly what it is they need at the right time through the click of a button. As a content creator and prospective business owner, Anna can have a 360-degree view of what truly is a unique journey through Edventures.
