Hi, I’m Ola.
Nice to Meet You.
My name is Aleksandra Jankowska, but most people call me Ola. I am 25 years old, and I come from Warsaw, Poland. I lived there up until I was 18 when I graduated High School and moved to New York to pursue my undergraduate degree.
A Little More About Me
Moving away after living in one place all my life was daunting, to say the least. I was on my own, not only in a new country but on a whole new continent. I was studying design in a diverse city, surrounded by a variety of cultures. It was eye-opening and new. Something I never experienced before. On top of trying to support myself in a completely new place, I had to learn how to navigate my new reality.
After living there for six years, while I understood the culture around me, I never truly felt like I fit in. Despite this, I graduated with honors and two minors under my belt and was able to stand on my own two feet. But something still felt off. A change was necessary. So, I moved back to Poland to focus on myself and find the sight of who I am, to write my own story that felt like me.
The Road to New Worlds
No matter how things would look in my life, there was always a way to escape. Whether it was novels about demigods, movies that let me traverse wild realms of fantasy, or… video games that allowed me to become someone completely else. The latter of those became a fascination. As a younger girl, I’d scoot over on the couch to watch closely as my father traversed the red roofs of Renaissance Florence, or navigated his way through a radioactive wasteland. Soon enough, I wanted to live vicariously within those worlds myself, and it was what I turned to in my time of need.
Once I came back, I started to immerse myself more and more in these worlds and the stories that they told.
The Ups and Ups of Being a Gamer Girl
The stories told through video games never cease to amaze me. The world-building, character development, the storytelling… every minute detail crafted with intent. Virtually, I could be anything I wanted to be. These worlds would envelop me for so long, and bring so much joy into my life when I needed it most.
That is when I knew.
I wanted to bring people respite from reality through the stories I could create. What if I could weave my passion for storytelling into my career and bring a little bit of joy into other people’s lives?
The Answer… Maybe?
How could I go about tapping into my creative side of storytelling? Working strictly in design, I take another person’s vision and turn it into a story. But I myself, have little input in the narrative of it. I wasn’t content with my career, because I wanted more out of it. How can I make it even better?
I wanted to understand the other side of what I did. How can I create a strategy for successful campaigns, that at the same time could utilize storytelling? I started doing research into programs that could satisfy my needs and the IE Masters Program in Strategic Marketing & Communication felt like a place I could pursue my passion and grow as a professional. This was further cemented in my head after speaking to people that attended the university, as well as flying out to see it for myself. It simply felt right.
Bringing it Back:
What Do I Strive For?
Marketing is such a wonderful tool, often underutilized in its ability to showcase stories and make people feel something more profound. Yes, it is a selling tool. But it also can tell a story that will create an impact.
And that is precisely what I want to do.
I want to tell the stories of brands, not only why a person should choose them, but also what they represent, and how they exist within our world.
I am hoping that IE can help me further that goal and allow me to pursue storytelling through the medium of Marketing and Communication.
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