Coming from Suceava, Georgiana S. is a young woman with serene eyes and big dreams. From an early age, she proved to be a fighter, overcoming all the obstacles that life put in her way. The dream of becoming an architect motivated her and guided her every step. Arriving on her own, Georgiana worked both in Switzerland and in Romania in the last two summers before taking the baccalaureate exam in order to cover the costs necessary to prepare for college.
In the summer of 2019, she participated in the courses of the Oxford for Romania summer school, where she met Alexandra Popa, founder of the crowdfunding platform "AdoptămStudenți.ro". After being admitted to UCL The Bartlett School of Architecture in the UK, the best school of architecture in the world, she followed a process by which her dream and need for funding became public. As soon as she had a cost estimate, she signed up on the platform to start the fundraising campaign.
The most difficult part of the whole process seemed to be the presentation of her story. Apart from the fact that she felt the high school did not prepare her for such a situation, the idea of exposing herself and being vulnerable in front of others raised certain internal barriers. However, over 150 individual donors contributed through the platform to cover the costs of accommodation, transport and accommodation estimated by Georgiana for the first year of study.
Georgiana believes that determination has made her campaign a success. Sh learned all the time, overcame all obstacles and never gave up on her dream.
"I managed to show how determined I am to fulfill my dream.”
For students who will run campaigns on the platform "AdoptămStudenți.ro" in the future, Georgiana has two tips:
- Don't give up, even if you run into several refusals. Georgiana remembers that she encountered several refusals, especially at the beginning of the campaign, and in the first days she did not manage to collect any donations. However, she continued with optimism and determination.
- Be optimistic, start from the idea that you will succeed! For Georgiana, optimism and positive thinking are basic elements of any success. She strongly believes that you attract what you transmit and that people's reactions mirror yours. If you are a positive person and believe in your dream, others will believe too!
When asked to describe the experience with Adopting Students, Georgiana says that "this platform and the people who set it up gave me wings". Looking back, she realized that she had become more open, more confident, and more optimistic. At the same time, Georgiana's circle of acquaintances increased significantly as a result of this experience.
If the financial situation allowed, Georgiana would help finance the studies of responsible and determined young people. She remembers with emotion the words of one of her supporters in the campaign: "Saving a human, you save all humanity!"
In the future, Georgiana sees herself a successful architect. She eagerly wants to contribute to the realisation of a "home" for all those who dream of this. In any part of the world she would find herself, Georgiana wants to contribute to the development and education of future students and to be actively involved in educational campaigns. Being an "adopted student" herself, she believes that she would resonate with the stories of other young people and, by getting involved, she would give something back to society.
"The financial situation should not be an impediment when it comes to continuing studies at a high level and I am glad that such a platform has appeared, unique in Romania."
Georgiana is now preparing for her first year of study at the best school of architecture in the world. Each donation received brought her closer to fulfilling her dream. The first lesson is already learned:
"Life is with and about people and everything is achievable if you have the right people with you!”
Adoptamstudenti.ro (which means We adopt students) is the first crowdfunding platform in Romania that supports exceptional students to raise funds to study at top universities in the world.
Georgiana's campaign is over, but you can always support a student without material possibilities to study according to their potential. You can find more stories here.
According to the law, legal entities in Romania can donate 20% of the profit or income tax. For more details you can contact us at contact@adoptamstudenti.ro.
A text by Corina Pârvu