My projects
2 COLLAPSING TOWERS, BUILDING MY LIFE
💡 What I learned
"Think out of the box, discuss and share: I have nothing to lose, everything to win!"
It wasn't my first internship as I wrote in about me, and yet it was this internship that taught me the power of encounters and that gave me the taste for projects, big projects.
It was actually a collaboration with Art Puissance Art, an association working for the city of Strasbourg as part of the urban renewal programme in the Meinau district. An artistic performance in the 33 Tower, which is due to be demolished.
I met artists, graffiti artists, painters but also children from the Meinau district. With them, I drew, talked and painted. I learned so much.
There, I learned that in a project there are planning and deliverables. But beyond that, there are the people. That's where you learn the most: by sharing.
FROM DREAM TO REALITY
💡 What I learned
Even if I have all the skills it takes to achieve my dreams, I know that no one is going to roll out the red carpet for me. You always have to prove yourself, you always have to fight.
An advert in the school hallway and I knew there was only one option: this internship was for me. A communications internship in Sébastien Loeb's events agency. All I had to do was get in!
I called the Director of Loeb Events. Results: no room left.
I continued my search for an internship but a month later my school posted the advert again. Really, this time it's for me! I sent an email to the Director, then I called her. I asked for all the contacts I could get at the school, along with a CV and a cover letter explaining my passion. One interview and I'm in.
That's it, with a few shortcuts, it started from little me, waking up my dad at 5AM to be the first on a rally and hoping to bump into Sébastien Loeb, to, working for Sébastien Loeb and having a coffee with him in my office. For the record, I knew he was coming when I saw his helicopter through my window.
Learn what I am capable of
💡 What I learned
No matter what your age or background, you must never devalue yourself. I have enough self-esteem, I know what I'm worth.
Still in my chosen field: the automotive sector. I joined a rental event agency for exceptional cars. In this agency, there was everything to create in communication.
So, I launched and managed the social media of the agency and worked on a partnership with the "Cité de l'Automobile" of Mulhouse.
Thanks to the staff of the agency, I was able to drive incredible cars, cars that I never dreamt to drive one day: Jaguar type E, Bentley S1 or Ferrari Mondial.
It was crazy, I was 20, and they gave me all their trust. I worked a lot and showed that I can be trusted.
In this agency, I've also learned that encounters can be complicated. Some of them can judge you, and devalue you. So I learned not to let things get to me. I understood it, but that didn't mean I applied it, yet.
THE GREAT PARISIAN LIFE
💡 What I learned
Never forget that you have nothing without work. Sometimes it seems that it is easy, mostly with social media. These are shortcuts, just like my texts. Work is not a shortcut, it's the path.
Still in the automotive world and now in Paris! Who would have thought, once again, I certainly wouldn't.
I had Citroën's small cars in my child's room, in a village of 800 residents.
In this company, I saw my name on the front page of press release and I installed a ball pool at the C_42, the former Citroën showroom on the Champs-Elysées.
That is the crazy thing, I got everything I had with my determination, my desire and my hard work. But deep down, I had no self-confidence.
At Citroën, I learned to have fun at work, to really have fun! It was Paris, there was a budget, there were contacts. So I worked, worked a lot, and thanks to that I got to take part to great projects while I was just an intern. No! We saw it before: do not devalue yourself.
The launch of the new Citroën C3 at "Mondial de l'Auto", the creation of a beach on the "place de la Bastille" for the launch of the e-Mehari, the management of a partnership with Colette to celebrate the anniversary of the "2cv fourgonette" (and spending hours finding a pair of Stan Smith in the color of Colette blue). All I ever wanted!
From disappointment to revelation
💡 What I learned
Choosing is renouncing. For better or for worst, no one can know what will happen next. So I learned to jump, this is the only way to discover what's next.
For me, the automotive filed is over, I mean professionally. My biggest professional disappointment.
My experience at Citroën was an internship. In order to continue my studies with an apprenticeship I had to get a specific contract. I will spare the French administration details, but I was trapped. The company accepted only one specific contract and my school was offering a different one, I was stuck in the middle.
Now you get the sentence: "Choosing is renouncing".
I chose to keep my school and looked for another apprenticeship. The school owned me something. So I requested them the contacts of all "CAC 40" companies (the 40 largest companies in France). I called, I attended interviews and voilà, I'm getting hired by AXA. (remember, shortcuts, all of that...)
I didn't want to get in, although I could have a career. After an apprenticeship and a full-time contract, I quit. Then I came back to Alsace.
At AXA, I met incredible people, professionally and personally. People who have helped me open my eyes, I grew up so much thanks to them.
NEVER GIVE UP
💡 What I learned
Never give up. Even if you're being told to, even if people disagree. We never know what comes next, all you have to do is staying motivated.
I joined the Crédit Mutuel while they had rejected my application.
Yes, after 3 interviews, I got the "thank you for the interest, but we have to decline your application."
This is not how I imagined my return in Alsace. Going back at my parent's house, jobless. My self-esteem was really getting hurt. But, right after, Crédit Mutuel called me back for another job ! Here, it's not like an ex coming back, I put my ego aside and went for other interviews. I was still interested in the company.
It was the Crédit Mutuel that I saw on Rallye's banners or in Alsace's music festivals. Beyond all that, mutualism, solidarity, autonomy, there are important values for me.
So after passing the interviews, this time it was successful!
Here I am, part of the Crédit Mutuel, located at Frédéric-Guillaume Raiffeisen street, true visionary, innovator, and creative, a great sign for what will happen next. My next path.
