Lilia Velinova, '07
Lilia Velinova works in an office of 60 people who have about 40 different nationalities. “There isn't a dull day in the office, and I can no longer see myself in a work environment where everyone is the same,” she said.
Working in procurement for the United Nations (UN), Velinova said one of the most difficult, but also the most rewarding, aspects of her position is finding a common language among stakeholders. “We work with the entire world, and there isn’t one approach that fits all. When we manage to find that common language, I am amazed at how much we can achieve by putting our different perspectives together,” she said.
Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, Velinova considers herself a “professional expat” as she has been living abroad for the past 10 years. While attending high school in Bulgaria, she took her college counselor’s advice and looked into the University of Richmond, where she was subsequently accepted and came to study business administration with a concentration in marketing and a minor Spanish.
After graduating in 2007, Velinova spent some time working with a small financial company in Washington, D.C, but left after a year to attend a graduate program at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. While there, one of her administrators told her of an internship with the UN. “I never imagined that I would work for the UN; I thought it was an impossible target to reach. I was so surprised when I got an offer and accepted it even though it meant writing my master’s thesis while working full-time. I wasn’t about to pass up such an opportunity,” she said. “That was three years ago, and since then I have been working with the same agency. It is an amazing team, and I wake up every morning looking forward to going to the office and seeing my coworkers.”
Velinova’s passion for working with others has helped make her time with the UN very rewarding. “I've realized that I like working for a cause. I like seeing the positive impact of my work. I am far from the idea that I am saving the world, and there are certainly people who do much more than I do, but if I've helped a few people take a step towards making a better life for their families, then I'm happy,” she said. “All the little frustrations that one inevitably faces in daily working life cease to matter when my coworkers in the field report the impact we’ve made.”
While her position allows her to explore international cultures, Velinova came to realize her appreciation for knowledge and diversity while at Richmond. “I met people from so many different places who told me stories about their hometowns, their countries, their cultures - stories that were so different from what one reads in the guidebooks. I made friends for life and learned to work with people from various cultures and backgrounds and leverage our differences instead of letting them be a source of conflict. This has helped me tremendously now that I am out of college,” she said.
Having traveled to India, Eastern and Western Europe, Australia, and Africa, among other destinations, Velinovais never far from friends she made at Richmond. “We graduated and scattered all over the world, but now we can go visit each other. I have a place to stay and a local guide everywhere I go,” she said.
In the future Velinova wants to keep travelling, exploring and writing. “I have so many goals. A lifetime won’t be enough to achieve them all, and that’s why I feel so privileged,” she said. Among her favorite places, Velinova points to Richmond as holding a special place in her heart. “It was a wonderful experience, and it gave me a solid foundation to build both my career and my life.”