Hi everyone! I’m Ivana, and I’m the founder of PREMAS! I’m so excited to connect with you all!
Aside from being the Founder of PREMAS, I have my MD degree from Duke University School of Medicine. I’m also a summa cum laude graduate from Duke University, founder of an international leadership and mentorship organization for young adults (Leaders UNITE), and a psychology researcher. I’m also an aspiring Young Adult Author. I have 12+ years of experience with personalized mentorship, and 12+ years of experience with creating and implementing empowerment curricula. I can’t wait to connect with all of you through PREMAS!
My Story:
I’ve always believed that everyone has their own unique traits, skills, and talents that they bring to the world. Whether it’s your background and upbringing, a physical trait you love about yourself, a skill you have, a way that you think and process information, your connection to the world around you, your vision of how you hope to impact others and the world, your perspective and interests, your ambitions, your relationship with others, or anything else, you have your own unique story and way that you can make an impact in the world just by being you. That being said, it can often be difficult to embrace what makes you unique, especially when you feel like it alienates you from others. It can also be hard to even realize how you can use those particular qualities as strengths to reach your goals. I love to help people find confidence in who they truly are and watch them thrive knowing that they are amazing just the way they are. Because of that, it is one of my life missions to empower people by giving them the confidence and understanding they need to be the best version of themselves so that they can achieve their dreams!
I’ve been involved in this kind of work for over 12 years now. I’m the founder of Leaders UNITE, an international leadership organization that shows kids that: 1.) Everyone can be a leader and 2.) Leadership can be fun. I founded the program over 10 years ago with the goal of helping middle through high school-aged students see that anyone can be a leader by harnessing their own unique skills, and that people don’t need to have a particular personality type to become leaders. I created the entire organization’s hands-on leadership curriculum and have implemented it at 40+ schools and libraries across America and internationally. PREMAS uses similar methods of guided discussions and empowerment, and it’s my hope that PREMAS can help people in similar ways! In addition to that, I’m a medical student who has also conducted multiple years of psychology research, and I hope to integrate that background and knowledge to help support you in every way possible in PREMAS.
My hope is that PREMAS and the PREMAS community as a whole can help people to feel confident in their own skin and learn to love themselves just the way that they are. In turn, I hope that this helps people feel encouraged and supported as they chase their dreams. You are all unique and amazing in every way, and I hope that this program can help remind you of that every single day!
Thank you so much for checking out PREMAS! I am so looking forward to connecting with you!
~Ivana
PREMAS: Positive Reinforcement and Encouragement for My Amazing Self 