I’m Oana (pronounced “wanna,” like in “wanna dance?”). I’m an experienced marketer pursuing many other passions in life, such as: writing, traveling, travel and food writing, cooking food, eating food (see a pattern here?), dancing, and interesting people stories.
I was born and raised in beautiful Romania, land of Dracula, Nadia Comaneci, and sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls – if you haven’t tasted these yet, you’re seriously missing out!). I came to the US in 1997 to study at Berea College, the #1 liberal arts college in the South and a unique private college featuring an incredible tuition-free work-study education. After graduation, I received an MBA in Marketing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Duke’s online continuing education provided me with the latest and greatest information in Digital Media and Marketing. But honestly, some of the best lessons came from life and my hands-on experience as a marketer, writer, and traveler.
I love traveling and food, and I pursue both as much as possible, sharing my experiences with the readers of my travel blog GreatEscapetations.com (a play on words: Great Escape + Great Expectations or oanatravel.com to make it easier). I muse about many things in my Thoughtfulicious.com blog (or oanawrite.com). I dance and teach ballroom dancing and I am a proud mamma of three furry kids: two dogs and a cat.
If you want to know more about my creds, read on.
Are we on the same page?
As the daughter of a teacher mom and a hard-working dad, I am guided by strong values, which I followed both in my personal and my professional life:
Integrity
I value honesty (even if sometimes truth might be unpleasant – the good news is that it might inspire a positive change), strong work and personal ethics, and accountability for one’s actions.
INTEGRITY is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
C. S. Lewis
Open Communication
Listening is a large part of understanding, and the feedback loop is essential.
COMMUNICATION is a two-way street.
Respect
Mutual respect is vital in any relationship.
RESPECT is a non-negotiable aspect of any healthy relationship.
Results
I approach every task with a “can-do”/solutions-oriented mind set; setting goals, and then tracking and measuring results are vital steps in any process.
RESULTS are like pudding: the proof is in them!
Humor
Life is too short to forget what’s really important. A positive attitude is healthy; people perform at their best when they are happy.
A person without a SENSE of HUMOR is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble in the road.
Henry Ward Beecher
Imagination
It’s important to dream big and have a big picture view of things. It’s also important to develop creative solutions around inevitable hurdles.
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you anywhere.
Albert Einstein
Kindness
Compassion is what makes all the difference in the world. We are all biased, but we are able to learn and love.
Call me crazy but I like to see people happy and succeeding. Life is a journey, not a competition.