Igor Stojkov (2019-2020, North Macedonia, placed by Greenheart Exchange in Northwood, NH)

What do you do when somebody offers you the opportunity to participate in valuable training sessions for your career development and personal growth? You grab the opportunity and learn. That is what I did during a weekend in May as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the YES Program. 

The YES 20th anniversary celebration was a network event for alumni and other guests. The celebration included two main workshops in the capital city of Skopje, North Macedonia. Dr.Sam Potolicchio led the first workshop, while our Country Representative, Zdenka Nikolovska, led the second one. 

Both workshops focused on self-growth and leadership. The participants listened and collaborated with Dr. Potolicchio, who talked about leadership, perception, strong characteristics of leaders, and much more. Ms. Nikolovska focused on SDI Core Strengths, about finding yourself, dealing with “difficult" people, and improving communication and conflict management skills. What stood out during her training was the explanation for different approaches to different personalities since everyone has different core strengths and ways of managing conflict.

All participating alumni reflected on their contributions and achievements during the YES experience while on the program and after. Mihaela Miladinoska '20 stated, “Participating in these high-quality workshops is a great privilege for those interested in professional development as well as valuable networking opprounity with like-minded people.”

The 20th anniversary of the YES program serves as a powerful reminder of how one idea can turn strangers into real friends, partners, and colleagues!

Featured alumni: 

Mihaela Miladinoska (2019-2020, North Macedonia, placed by CIEE in Waterloo, IA)