The key difference of the company we visited today was that ANDD is promoting entrepreneurship through technology, rather than promoting technological entrepreneurship (AI, coding, other tech startups), which is what the other sites focused on. Similarly, all of the companies we have visited focus on supporting entrepreneurs, promoting innovation, and guiding them to success. Their focus on teaching women simple life skills, like public speaking, and also business skills, such as the social media and video editing lessons, is very inspiring. I think ANDD’s work is very special, and the workshops seem to be very effective. From the first site, I particularly thought the young lady who spoke to us about her public speaking journey was really awesome. I never would have suspected she was ever a shy person after the way she cracked jokes, interacted with us, and especially because she spoke English despite her lack of fluency. That to me is so impressive, because I am usually the opposite of shy, except for when it comes to speaking another language. I get very nervous speaking Greek and German around my native family members for some reason. I know they aren’t trying to judge me and are very proud of me for trying, but I still get nervous. So after hearing how an ANDD workshop brought her from being such a shy person to speaking English to us and joking around with us, I find the company’s work to be very amazing.

I am a firm believer that social media is a pathway to success, so I loved hearing about the women who learned how to use social media platforms to promote their businesses. All of these women shared the same aspirations, so I think it is wonderful that they were all brought together and encouraged to build their professional lives. After hearing about all of their businesses, I am so impressed by each and every one of those ladies, especially my new bestie Chaimaa (we’re now friends on Instagram and TikTok). Throughout my years on social media, with a focus on growing my TikTok account, I have learned that consistency and creativity is key. I have looked at two of the ladies’ Instagram and TikTok pages, and they both post unique content constantly, which makes me think their profiles will only grow from here, inshallah! My friend Chaimaa asked me if I have any idea what I want to do, and I think she was referring specifically to my entrepreneurial journey, which really got me thinking. I have always thought I was meant to go to law school and everyone in my life is encouraging that path. However, I do see entrepreneurial tendencies in myself. Although highly unrealistic, I have always dreamed of starting a clothing line, I constantly have ideas for random products, and I treat my social media platforms as a job and “market” my life online. I do brand partnerships, product promotionals, and I have recently shifted to posting lifestyle content, in hopes that I can soon monetize my videos directly on TikTok. If I do decide to take a more innovative career pathway, I don’t think I will have any trouble promoting whatever it may be, and my girl Chaimaa is really rubbing off on me.