So yes, Damaris is my firstname

It comes from my parents, who gave me this first name in reference of two women who crossed their path: one during an Israël trip, the other one at the maternity where I was born. It was all set: it will be my first name. My parents like to say that it means "lovely little woman". When I did my search I discovered that it means "Wife" in greek.

I like to think that my first name is rare enough not to be reduced to a single word. I am the one who creates its own meaning.

This first name helped me during my all life. Yes, often, there is only one Damaris and when you want to stand out it's very effective !

You know now my first name's origin, but this is just a little part of who I am. So I've created this website to give you a more detailed insight into my world and a bit of my career.

What I learned during my journey

My beginnings

Do not accept "no it's impossible"

Most of the time, I've been told "it is impossible". First as a student, when I wanted to study in a private school and needed a student loan. The bank disagreed. "You should join a public school and then go in a private school afterwards in order to pay less."

Then, when I was in a private school: "You want to take part to the Alsace Rally? This is not the process, students are chosen randomly."

Then, during an internship in Alsace: "You want to join Citroën in Paris? No one knows you, and it's Paris, how will you pay?"

Results:

I passed my Master's degree in the school I wanted
I volunteered for Alsace Rally for 2 years
I worked for Citroën in Paris
I always listened to what I want

In conclusion, I learned that no one can decide for me. I can listen to advices but in the end I am the one who takes the decision. That does not mean it will be easy, but it means this is possible.

My first work experience

Knowing where I come from and where I want to go

I will never forget my first job. An internship: a scam.

The contestant school of mine created a fake agency, a fake interview and a fake contract. I discovered the fraud one week before my internship started.

I was not the only student to be fooled, but this was my first step in the professional world: liars and fraud.

It was tough because I grew up with respect and kindness values.

I asked my school for help, they gave me a 150 lines long Excel sheet of companies' contacts and told me to call each one of them.
With this advice, I ended up in a travel agency.
An agency which actually didn' need any communication intern. I did mails and photocopies and at its best, I cleaned the agency's fridge.

I alerted my school, they told me: We don't give up on a 8 weeks internship, we hold on.

This experience taught me to see the best part of every situation. Although this internship confronted me with difficulties very early on, it put an end to my naivety. I realised that I will never find myself in a similar situation again. This realisation allowed me to surpass myself and to pursue my objectives with clarity and determination.

The next part of my career

Knowing what drives you, mine is enthusiasm

I said it before, what motivates me is the collective intelligence and determination.

I've always had the ability of seeing the best in every situation. That helps me to stay optimistic and I try to transmit it.

To me, enthusiasm is clearly my motivating force but it's also my compass: if I don't have this enthusiasm that drives me, I know that I have to change something: my position or my projects.

Thanks to this enthusiasm, I had great projects all along my career: in internship, apprenticeship and full time. I've always given myself the means to educate myself, to exchange with other, to discover so that I can be where I need to be to make things happen and have an impact.

Make things happen and have an impact.

Enthusiasm is what helps me overcome the difficulties. Sure there are difficult moments, but I keep going, no matter what.
For me, moving forward with small steps is better that not moving at all.