From Film Indus­try to Oulu: Naida’s Adven­ture of New Begin­nings

In a world where indi­vid­u­als seek to expe­ri­ence new begin­nings, Nai­da Valen­ci­a’s sto­ry moti­vates the pow­er of step­ping out of one’s com­fort zone and wel­com­ing the unknown. Orig­i­nal­ly mov­ing from Seat­tle, Wash­ing­ton, Naida’s jour­ney led her to Oulu, Fin­land, where she found a new sense of belong­ing.

From the act­ing divi­sion at UCLA to the restau­rant indus­try and final­ly to the role as a Mar­ket­ing Man­ag­er. Nai­da Valen­ci­a’s sto­ry beau­ti­ful­ly illus­trates that a career jour­ney need not fol­low a lin­ear path.

Instead, it’s a col­lec­tion of experiences that devel­ops our skill set, broad­ens our per­spec­tive, and reminds us that suc­cess thrives in our pas­sions.

Naida’s con­nec­tion with Oulu was not just coin­ci­den­tal; it was a result of her per­sis­tent pur­suit of oppor­tu­ni­ties. With a strong back­ground in the film indus­try and cre­ativ­i­ty, she found her­self work­ing for the film pro­duc­tion com­pa­ny in Oulu known as “What­ev­er­group” as a Mar­ket­ing Man­ag­er. This oppor­tu­ni­ty did­n’t just pro­vide her with a new job; it became the rea­son for a new begin­ning.

Can you describe your first impres­sions about Oulu?

“Nev­er been in a place that need­ed so lit­tle atten­tion, the peo­ple and the cul­ture are real­ly fas­ci­nat­ing to me because they refuse the spot­light. I have nev­er seen some­one refuse the spot­light and I don’t know if it’s because I am in the film indus­try but I love the idea of being able to cap­ture people’s sto­ries. When I con­nect with some­one, I real­ly like to know who they are. The type of human seduc­tive­ness need­ed to get a Finn to open up, if it’s not alco­hol then it takes quite a lot of brain work because it takes them time. But once they do, it is absolute­ly pre­cious.”

Hav­ing spent a year in Oulu, Nai­da reflects on the series of events that led her here. Strug­gling to find her place and sense of com­fort in the Unit­ed States and fac­ing obsta­cles in Ger­many due to Covid, Naida’s path ulti­mate­ly guid­ed her to Fin­land. It was here that she dis­cov­ered a new world, both cul­tur­al­ly and pro­fes­sion­al­ly.

Is there any­thing sur­pris­ing about liv­ing in Oulu?

“I think very few times in life you stop and say ‘I’m learn­ing’, oth­er than at school. I am now in the obser­va­tion room: I notice Oulu is teach­ing me and I didn’t expect that.”

Oth­er than work­ing, Nai­da enjoys danc­ing, music, and spend­ing time con­nect­ing with oth­ers. She spends her free time by social­iz­ing, hav­ing drinks, and try­ing dif­fer­ent types of food and wine. Danc­ing and music are also big pas­sions for her. She’s still get­ting used to her new sur­round­ings, tak­ing time to observe, and learn­ing about the Oulu cul­ture.

Naida’s sto­ry teach­es us that true growth often aris­es from step­ping into the unknown, that a place as seem­ing­ly oppo­site as Oulu can hold a spe­cial oppor­tu­ni­ty, and that every cor­ner of the world has the poten­tial to become a can­vas for new experiences and con­nec­tions.

Do you have any tips for some­one who has been think­ing about mov­ing and work­ing in Oulu?

“Delve into the Oulu world, I did a lot of research before I came here. I looked at pic­tures and got into the mood of Oulu before I came. There is no way you know exact­ly what it is before you come but pre­tend it is a vaca­tion. Look up what’s cool to do there, look up what are some of the fes­ti­vals they have, what kind of music they lis­ten to. Get your­self into the cul­tur­al mind­set of the world you’re going to and give it a shot!”

Text: Nada Abass