Learn how your weaknessses can be your greatest assets

Involvement with the PWF project means meeting interesting AND passionate people. Claudia Doria is one of these people – author of ‘The Truth about being an International Student’, founder of www.globallyunited.net and now a personal coach.

Claudia’s passion is seeing other people break through boundaries – beliefs, culture, excuses, fears and other inhibitors – things that stop people from reaching their full potential. Claudia provides feedback and insights to help people through transitions – such as career change, retirement or leaving home and facing a new culture. A lot of emotions can be involved, she says, and quite often fear.

Over the past few years and through her book, website and personal networks Claudia has received lots of emails and has been asked for help and advice. She has coached teachers, lecturers, homestay hosts, students and others.

Recently a webdesigner running an international university information website asked if she was charging for her advice – saying that there are business overseas that charge by the minute! The entrepreneur in Claudia recognised the opportunity that her passion had created and she now offers a 4 session coaching and mentoring package. (http://www.globallyunited.net/coaching.htm)

A BIT MORE ABOUT CLAUDIA
Claudia is of Italian migrant descent and spoke only Italian till starting school at five here in Australia. She has owned businesses in tourism and transport and spent many years in training and development of human resources in organisations, as well as completing a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology. Her latest move into a career as a coach and writer of people’s life stories she feels is perhaps the most liberating experience to date.

Writing the book, Claudia thought was pretty hard, but she was driven by a passion for the cultural richness that international students bring to Australia as well as her companion concerns about the needs and the rights of these visitors. Passion then drove her down the road to ‘self publishing’ as she could ‘see’ her unread manuscript sitting in a publishing company’s in-tray – to hell with the content – as she was not a ‘big-name’ author. Claudia says “You have to knock on a lot of doors!” She did – in particular the door of one author with 15 books to her credit, who was amazed at her accomplishments when she had no prior knowledge of the publishing industry.

Claudia became a registered publisher, has her book selling overseas and in book shops throughout Australia and New Zealand. She also sells through her website in Australia and enjoys excellent word of mouth promotion, particularly through Student Services in various tertiary institutions and secondary schools.

FOR MORE INFO VISIT www.globallyunited.net

SEE Bulletin 34 International students & Homestay