Employee Success Story: Putting Your Theoretical Knowledge Into Practice

Marianna has been with Ucraft since 2017 and started working at the company when she was still a Sophomore at the American University of Armenia. Over the years, she had to balance changing responsibilities with college studies and adapt to new locations, which worked out in her favor as she learned valuable new skills and time management techniques. 

We spoke to Mash about her experience, what’s changed at Ucraft since she first started as a growth hacker, how her position has changed over time, and much more. Let’s dive in!
 

1. You’ve been at Ucraft for a long time now. How has the company changed and grown since you first started?
   I joined Ucraft in 2017, and I can proudly state that I was among the first joiners of the Ucraft family! The company has changed dramatically. We had around 40 employees back then, and now we are a big family of about 200 employees. The company changed: the staff grew, office locations changed and expanded, but we were able to preserve the company culture and even improve it.
    

2. We know you were balancing your university education and job at Ucraft for several years. How did you manage it? 
   I came to Ucraft when I was a sophomore at college.  I was studying at the American University of Armenia, Faculty of Business and Economics. In order to put everything that I learned into practice, I applied for a job at Ucraft, successfully accomplished tasks assigned to me by Gev (our CEO), and voilà - I became a proud member of the Ucraft family. From time to time, I felt overloaded by exams and work, but, in general, I was only happy to be studying and working simultaneously! Moreover, my work helped me a lot in my university education. It gave me experience and practical knowledge, which was a perfect addition to the theoretical knowledge I was gaining while studying.
    

3. As an OG member of the Ucraft family, tell us how your position has changed over the years. Do you feel like you have more responsibilities now? 
   I started as a growth hacker, then changed my profile a little bit into content management, and now I’m back in marketing. Back in 2017, Ucraft was quite a new product, and my primary responsibility as a growth hacker was to raise brand awareness and exposure about Ucraft. Later I got deep into content management, and I took care of content and marketing for our clients’ websites. Now I’m a marketing specialist that takes care of growth hacking, marketing strategies, and much more! In short, my responsibilities have changed a lot, and I have more of them now.
    

4. You used to work at the Ucraft shop before transferring to the main office. Looking back, which location do you prefer?
   To be honest, I loved our UC Shop’s location. It was in the very heart of the city, near the Cascade, and had a completely different vibe. It was so Ucraftish, stylish, and cozy. Good times! However, I love our current office and its atmosphere as well.
    

5. What would you be doing if you weren’t on this career path?
   Funny thing! In fact, for years, we all thought that I was going to become a doctor, just like most of my family. I’ve always dreamt of that, but suddenly, I woke up and decided that I didn’t want to go into medicine, as it’s psychologically hard and emotional work. Thus I decided to choose something completely different, but something useful and popular, just in another way. This was when I chose Business and Economics. In short, if I weren’t on this career path, I’d surely be a doctor. 
    

6. If you could visit any country on the planet, where would you go and why?
   Traveling is my passion. I cannot name just one single country. At this very moment, I’d love to be somewhere by the sea or ocean - in Mauritius, or Morocco, let’s say! 
    

7. We also know you love your music! What are some of your favorite songs?
   Yeah, I’m a true musicaholic! I listen to songs of all genres and of all years! And it’s always tough for me to highlight a couple of songs. But I’ll try to go with my favorite ones that just came to my mind: Grover Washington Jr. feat. Bill Withers - Just The Two of Us, Dabeull & Sofiane Pamart - Never Coming Back ft. Dee Eye, Sade - Cherish The Day!
    

8. And finally, tell us something about yourself that your colleagues may not know about you.
   Well, I love learning new languages. I’m fluent in Armenian, Russian and English, French and German! Italian, Spanish, and Arabic are next on my list (but to be honest, I don’t know when I’ll manage to free up some time to dive into it) :)