Helene Vassilopoulos-Oliveira

I was born in Greece but I grew up in Brazil. I graduated in Communication, worked in the area, and got married. In 2005, the company my husband worked for, moved us to Michigan. I learned the language, I moved 3 more times. I lived in Austin (TX), Seattle (WA) and came back to Michigan. These moves allowed me to visit 29 states in America and help me opening my mind. You realize that there’s no one way to live life. Meeting people from other places will show you that your world view isn’t the same as everyone else’s.

Since I came from Brazil I have always missed my professional life. My desire has always been to be present in the corporate world, but all the jobs I found so far wasn't enough to establish myself professionally. I always felt that something was missing. Something that would make me feel great emotions, that would give me the opportunity to solve problems, and feel useful in some way.

It was then in a conversation with a friend and then with my husband that things changed direction. They introduced me to UX design. When I did the first UX workshop I had a happy cry and I said to myself. "wow!" EUREKA! Finally I found what was really missing in my life. UX design!

“My passion for communication, technology and customers will go a long way in helping me understand the user's feelings and behaviors. I want to design so that users have an excellent experience leading them to feel happy and fulfilled. This is the most pure way of thanking my professional achievement for the world and to keep me motivated and creative.

Speaking of creativity, the best way to keep myself inspired is doing exercises early in the morning. I usually run or walk through my subdivision. It is at this time that I connect with Mother Nature and let my thoughts fly until the moment that my thoughts turn to my persona and I begin to feel and understand their needs. It is an incredible thing, I come home with a mind full of ideas and ways to improve my projects.

I am a lover of psychology. I like trying to understand people's minds and actions behind every thought. I like movies and tv series where crimes are solved. I like to see how they analyze the criminal minds. Maybe that's what makes me so empathetic. For being empathizer and chameleon, for changing a lot and knowing how to deal with these changes, when it comes to the workplace, I can be instrumental in mitigating conflicts, making sure that all team members are aware of each other's emotions and challenges of others. I am also a valuable resource in any team helping to defrost from a sudden change of plans and progress in chaotic environments.

I am focused on my goals, plan them, and put me in action. I am loyal and I like to make a difference in my work. Most of the time I strive to go beyond what is assigned to me. I am very helpful and try to help those who need me.

I like watching a lot of movies based on real facts especially those that serve us as inspiration. Whenever such a film ends, I finish doing my research on the internet to find out what was true and what was the author's imagination.

I really enjoyed reading Strengthsfinder 2.0 (Discover your CliftonStreingths) by Gallup and Tom Rath. The book is about the diverse personalities and talents that each person takes with them since they were born and even those that you have because of your lived experiences. From this book I got a quote that I really like: "You cannot be anything you want to be - but you can be a lot more of who you already are."