Born to be free

Coming from a small beautiful village two hours' drive north of Bratislava in Slovakia, Lucia Lukanova, PhD in strategic management at the Comenius university in Bratislava, has never given up her dreams. She has never been held back by national borders. Following her job, she has worked in Belgium and Switzerland, and now her life is between Germany and France. And it pays off in the end: she works as a project manager for big international companies.

E&M: What does it take to go abroad to work?

Lucia: I would say, first it is the sense for adventure and craving for the unknown. Then, to work abroad and have what some may call an interesting job, you must be willing to go beyond your limits, go the extra mile most of your peers would not go. Being active and curious makes you enjoy it all.

E&M: What was your motivation to take on the challenge of going to another country?

Lucia: Hm, it is not an easy question. I wanted to be independent. I think it was curiosity too: to discover different places. And drive to learn and see what I could not experience at home.

E&M: What makes it special and worth the effort?

Lucia: It's an extremely interesting job I would say. The diversity of the people I have the luxury of meeting is absolutely striking. As far as my company goes, I think that this mix of people is its primary asset. On a day to day basis I work together with colleagues from different countries. Often we cooperate with solution centers in Philippines, Spain, India, etc. On top of that my client's people on the project represent different locations from around the world. This means that throughout the day you are exposed to a great variety of languages and English accents. It is quite an experience to understand them all. From time to time I also travel to other countries and continents as the job requires.

E&M: Was there ever a time when you thought you'd had enough and that you had to go back?

Lucia: Well, I do miss my family and friends, who live in Slovakia. However, I try to keep in touch and be there with them at least for all the big events. And in the back of my head there is still the silent critic saying that it was not right to have my education paid from the Slovak state budget and then use it elsewhere. Maybe all the travel is only an investment and I will be able to return it back at a later point of time.

E&M: You have lived in different countries and visited many more. How would you compare them?

Photo: Lucia Lukanova

It is a wonderful world!

Lucia: They are unique. I do not compare these countries, really. Each has got many different great things which we should cherish. People in their substance all strive for love and happiness, what makes them different is the embededdnes into different social contexts. So I guess, yes, you could start the sort of generalizations like precise Germans, romantic French, flowery Italians, entrepreneurial Chinese etc. The point is, these generalizations are not going to tell you a single thing about an individual person.

E&M: Is there a country you would never go to?

Lucia: No. They all are worth visiting. And that is something we should all learn: to be open for the world and willing to know it better rather than just judging other on the bases of prejudices.

E&M: Has your family noticed a change in you since you've been abroad?

Lucia: You'd need to ask them...just joking. If I remember well, some of my relatives told me I have not changed at all. Is that good or should I worry?!? I do not know. All the projects and time in Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, UK, Slovakia, Thailand, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France certainly helped me create my own picture of the world, untainted through mass media and experiences of other people made in different contexts.

E&M: If you could give an advice to young Europeans, what would it be?

Lucia: I would advise them to stay as they are. They should not try to adapt to any image generated either by the mass media or whatever they think is expected of them. Instead they should discover their own talents and strenghts, see what makes them happy. On the other side they should stay very open to ackowledge the talents of others, regardless of their national, religious or racial and other backgrounds. This is not always easy, but very rewarding. Trust me.

Lucia Lukanova was interviewed by Margarita Ivanova.