Martina’s story is one of a few I wrote on behalf of Langara’s alumni department as part of a project to highlight their notable alumni. The story follows Martina through her Langara days, and provides advice for students searching for their “a-ha moment”.
The story is published on Langara’s website.
Martina Ondrasekova is a 2018 graduate of Langara’s Marketing Management degree program. For Martina, her “a-ha moment” in life was enrolling in the Special Events and Planning course at Langara. Before that class, she wasn’t sure which direction her life was going. She credits the class for changing her life, showing her what she was truly passionate about while allowing her to explore content creation and social media management. “There was something about special events and planning marketing [that] just sounded very interesting to me,” says Martina. “It was probably the toughest class, in terms of school work, that I ever took at Langara, but it was so worth it and I enjoyed every single day of it.” Martina met one of her current business partners in that class, Bryn Tucker, and continues to be mentored by her former teacher.
For students searching for their “a-ha moment”, Martina has four simple words of advice – put yourself out there! This includes working to understand your passions in life. Martina struggled with this for years. “The earlier you start discovering or exploring your passions the better,” she says. She suggests volunteering, finding a mentor, mentoring someone else, or joining student clubs to expand your experience. During her time at Langara, Martina founded the Langara Digital Club because she couldn’t find a club that fit her own interests. “If your passionate about something — build an Instagram page around it! You never know what opportunity is hiding behind the corner… you don’t have to get a job, you can create a job yourself, for yourself,” says Martina.
During her time at Langara, Martina participated in projects such as Upintheair Theatre, Vancouver Fashion Week, and founded the Digital Club. “I was juggling all of these. But since they were things I was extremely passionate about, I know it sounds cliché, it didn’t feel like work at all,” says Martina. One of the most important things she learned to do while managing all of these projects, on top of her regular studies, was to ask for help. She had been hesitant because, to her, it seemed like a weakness. But after she started asking for help, she was pleasantly surprised by the response that she got and how others pitched in to help.
These days, Martina keeps busy with the company she started with two other Langara students, Bryn Tucker and John Apostolopoulos, called Soju Events. When Bryn first approached her with the idea, Martina had no idea what K-Pop was at the time and she wasn’t even big on clubbing. But the project sounded fun and interesting, and Martina loves pushing herself and her boundaries, so she hopped on board as co-founder and marketing manager. Three and a half years later, Martina and her partners have been able to transform Soju Events into one of the most popular K-Pop event organizers in the city, bringing in talent from Korea and promoting the local scene in Vancouver. Having started Soju Events, Martina has gone from someone who knew virtually nothing about K-Pop to the biggest fangirl out there.
In addition to her work with Soju Events, Martina is the marketing director for her family business, Smartbite Snacks. When Martina’s family emigrated from Europe to Vancouver ten years ago, they were surprised at the lack of good tasting healthy snacks. She credits the success of the company to the personal approach they take with their customer base. “When you actually create a community and care about your customers, they don’t stray away. They stay with you,” explains Martina.
Martina’s latest challenge was working as a contributing writer for the BC chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). Martina says that the opportunity actually ties right back into Langara. One of her instructors, Stephanie Koonar, encouraged her to join the AMA in February of 2018. At an event hosted by the organization, she met another member who convinced her to join. Once she was a member, Martina began to look at ways she could give back to the organization. She found an opportunity to become a blog writer for them profiling Vancouver based entrepreneurs like herself. After a year and a half, she concluded her work at BCAMA to focus solely on Soju Events and Smartbite Snacks that keep on growing.