Giftmaker Experience - Mariana Silaen

Another untold story to be told by our former gift maker in the research team. Her name is Mariana Silaen, or I always call her Mari. She was born and grew up in Balikpapan, on Kalimantan's east coast. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Meteorology from ITB and then continued her studies in International Development at the University of Manchester, focusing on climate change and the environment. She worked at su-re.co from 2016 until 2019. At that time, she was involved in many projects that su-re.co did, like GREENWIN and TRANSrisk, and organized our first climate field school. Isn't she cool?

A path that leads to su-re.co

According to Mariana, she was fascinated with the job description offered by su-re.co at that time, and she knew instantly that this was what she wanted to do. She learned about climate science during her undergraduate studies and had a vision of implementing it into society. This is how she was excited about getting into international development, though very different from meteorology. She felt that su-re.co as a company could facilitate what she wants to do by bridging the science to society. This is the reason why she applied for a job at su-re.co. I recalled that she came from Bandung at that time to do a face-to-face interview with our CEO, Dr. Takama, who coincidentally was in Jakarta for his business trip. My impression, this showed her determination to work at su-re.co 😊

So, here is her testimony when she worked at su-re.co 😉

What did you like about su-re.co as a company?

Mari likes how su-re.co provides a space for the employees to grow, but we have to know that you don’t only come to learn, but also contribute. So you get to be a learner and a professional at the same time. The company also grows so much from its past mistakes and keeps evaluating its system. It’s very dynamic yet still true to its value.

What do you like about su-re.co work culture? Why?

What Mariana likes about su-re.co is the transparency among the employees (all the cc emails, daily stand up, file naming, etc.), which helps us measure our position in the company’s work pace. You know what you know and what you don’t know, which was super clear for her as an employee.

What did you learn at su-re.co? Did you understand how your work impacts su-re.co think- do-be tank goals?

Independent problem solving, to learn and to think before doing. She understood how her work impacted the company as goals are measurable thanks to its traceable work distribution.

What would you improve in su-re.co?

She opined that promotion on social media, particularly the company’s products such as su-re.coffee, should be more raised. However, it had improved so much more than when she was still in the company. But she believes it can achieve more. She really likes the blog posting anyway; they are very informative and enjoyable to read. 😊

What kind of change do you see in yourself between before and after the internship?

She appreciates work transparency now, the strongest value that su-re.co has.

What would you say for those who would like to take the leap to su-re.co?

“Definitely to not miss any of the opportunities offered. Take some time to learn about their system deeply and follow what they’re doing carefully. Ask around about what you don’t understand and add values to what has existed.”