Show us an activity you

enjoy doing. Tell us how

you think it contributes to

your personal and

professional development.

Engy Magdy Youssef Amr

I enjoy doing quite a

few things. Taking great

photos, volunteering for

a cause, bending my

body into unusual

shapes aka yoga

asnas, playing my guitar

and exploring new lands

and cultures. Out of all

these I chose to talk to

you about the one

activity that I believe

has most contributed to

the person I am today.

My Childhood

My interest in travel started ever since I was as young as I could remember. I attended an international school during my first years at school. Students all came from different ethnic, racial, religious and cultural backgrounds .Being exposed to people of other cultures as a child has opened my mind as an adult in more ways than I can understand .It was responsible for my curiosity about cultures that are different from my own and my inspiration to travel the world.

During college, I

participated in a few

cultural exchange

programs run by an EU

initiative for youth.

By the time I graduated It was clear to me that one of

the most important criteria of the job I was looking for

was international exposure

In less than 2

years after

graduation I

had started

travelling

professionally

and personally

and haven’t

stopped since.

How travelling Contributes to my personal and professional development

IndependenceMy first experience living totally onmy own was in Germany. Leavingeverything that was familiar to mebehind and moving to a new countrywas a terrifying experience at theb e g i n n i n g . G o i n g t h ro u g h i thowever, taught me to become moreindependent and self sufficient. Itgave me the confidence to pursue allof the overseas opportunities thatcrossed my path afterwards, and seton my independent personal travels.

Henry Miller once said that One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. Meeting people from different walks of life has given me a broader outlook to the world, and has enabled me to see myself through other people’s eyes. Travelling made me realize that

whatever happens in my life there are always endless possibilities out there. Finally, travelling taught me that no matter how different we may seem, we have more commonalties that differences and that fact has been the building block of my personal and professional relationships.

A Different Perspective

My parents gave me the opportunity to grow up trilingual.Travelling gave me a passport to the world; An opportunity to learn 3 more languages.

& Communications

& CommunicationsTravelling instilled within me a desire to communicate with those who do not speak the same languages I do. I realized that I still remember some German from high school during an exchange program I attended & I got encouraged to signup for a German course. A few months later when an opportunity opened up for a project in Germany, My knowledge of German gave my an edge over my colleagues & I was chosen for the project. I continued to study German in the open university in Frankfurt.

& Communications

I have always known that Spanish is the second most spoken language after English, but I had

only realized the importance of learning Spanish after my First trip to Spain. When I moved to London the following year I got

myself a language exchange partner. A year later I enrolled at the University of Granada for

a Spanish Course.

& Communications

When I started working in Africa I noticed a strong need in the market for Portuguese speakers with a strong IT background to serve the

Portuguese-speaking countries in the region. Later when I was backpacking in Latin America, I noticed that my knowledge of Spanish enabled me to communicate with Brazilians. So decided to invest in

learning Portuguese. I set off to Rio for a months long intensive Portuguese course & upon my return I got the opportunity to drive one

of Microsoft’s marketing engines in French and Portuguese Africa.

Adaptability

& Endurance

Traveling pushes me outside of my comfort zone . When I travel I

need to constantly adapt to my new surroundings. I have to try

new things that I usually wouldn’t try. My ability to adapt to

different work cultures had made me easily do business across 15

different countries spread across 3 continents.

Planning

Weather I’m traveling on a business trip, backpacking, studying abroad or relocating to another city, When

I travel I am always on a fixed budget. Through continuous

tracking of my financials, traveling has helped me define my financial

priorities and taught me how to make the best out of the budget I have. It has taught me what and

when to compromise, how to manage unexpected costs .

My love for traveling has taken me to over 35

countries, It has given me some of the most

valuable experiences in my life and taught me most of what I know

about my self and made me see the world with a

different perspective.

Disclaimer: I do not own copyrights for the photos used in this presentation