This blog is long overdue.
At least it is in my head, because Angelia is continually coming to my rescue and always there to answer my crazy questions and provide support when I need it. (Which, by the way, is technically not her job. LOL.)
But that’s what makes her so great! That, plus an extraordinary work ethic that has her double checking in the middle of the night to make sure a client’s access was set up properly—and a zillion other things I will get to in a moment.
Angelia Nieves is our rock star onboarding manager.
Which means it’s her job to ensure a smooth onboarding process for both Solutions 8 clients and new employees. She joined the team in February of 2021, and in just five short months we’ve gone from, “Hey, she’s awesome!” to “Oh. Em. Gee. What did we ever do without her?”
Born and raised in the Philippines, where she currently lives, Angelia doesn’t let a little thing like time zones keep her from doing her best work. In fact, she says her mind is like Google Chrome, with multiple tabs open at all times. If she were to take up a hobby, it would be dressmaking or carpentry because, “I love hobbies that would allow me to let my racing thoughts flow while working with my hands and have a tangible finished product that is useful.”
For her, the best and the most challenging part of her job is working remotely—the best because she can take her work anywhere, provided it has a stable and fast internet connection, but also challenging because it’s hard to set work life and home life apart. I think many of us can relate to that these days!
Her go-to productivity trick? “A strong cup of coffee and a great song playlist!”
I also find it interesting that the three skills she says would keep her alive in a zombie apocalypse are also those that make her so good at her job:
- Survival skills: “To be the person that the situation calls for.” Check.
- Analytical skills: “To understand the nature of this creature—their behavior, pattern, routine, and draw meaningful conclusions to fight them off or join them (haha).” Replace “creature” with “client” and check!
- Creativity: “To maybe fashion toothpicks into a dangerous device.” Hey, creativity is an asset no matter what.
Not to mention Angelia is also one of the most positive people I have ever met.
Having learned from experience that hardship makes us stronger, she now makes self love and positivity a top priority. She says that while so many people emerged from 2020 with a negative outlook, for her it was the first time she felt like the universe actually had her back. It was during that time that her career flourished, she mended bridges with family, and she met the love of her life.
During quarantine, Angelia also discovered that there are a lot of things she can do without. She told me that even though it’s been a difficult year due to COVID-19 restrictions, it also gave her a clearer perspective on the things that really matter to her. “Slowing down does not necessarily equate to being unproductive,” she said.
And speaking of slowing down, here’s what she does when she’s not busy taking care of us and our clients.
When Angelia isn’t working, she loves painting, journaling, shopping, traveling (which she hopes to do again soon), and—one of my favorite things to do—reading. In fact, when I asked her what her travel necessities were besides the usual phone, computer, tablet, etc. she told me, “A book… and another book.” Yessssss.
She confesses that she could max out her credit card at Fully Booked and recently finished reading The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim, along with The Game of Life and How to Play It, which of course I ordered after she messaged me to say, “I think I found my new favorite book.”
“My favorite writers are pretty extreme, from Roald Dahl to George R.R. Martin,” Angelia shared with me when we first talked about books. “Roald Dahl because I have loved his work as a child and even to this day. George R. R. Martin because he knows how to sustain the thrill of this easily bored soul.”
I would put it differently, though. I think Angelia actually has the soul of a writer and therefore understands what constitutes a really good book. Why do I say that?
Here is what she told me when I asked what she would say to herself if she could travel back 5, 10, or even 20 years:
“You are at the precipice of a major life change. You are going to lose a lot of people in your life, from natural causes and all sorts of reasons, but you will learn to peacefully and quietly accept it with or without closure. Your heart will be broken numerous times and you will break a few hearts, too. Friends will turn away from you and family may seem distant but you are also going to meet some new characters—both good and rotten ones … it is going to be messy, soul-crushing, and lonely but you will overcome, blossom even. Just keep pushing forward; there’s no tunnel project so opulently funded that it stretches on forever. You will find that life can be surprisingly good and everything just clicks and aligns at the moment you least expect.”
I don’t know about you, but I need that hanging somewhere in my office… or tattooed on some part of my body.
Three things on Angelia’s bucket list?
If you’ve read this far, her answers shouldn’t surprise you.
First, she would like to “…significantly change a person’s life for the better… because who doesn’t want that?” She shared with me that the most important lesson she learned as a child that still applies today is to treat others as you want to be treated. And even though kindness isn’t always reciprocated, it’s important to be kind anyway.
Next, she says she’d like to travel to so many places that her vertigo has no choice but to leave her body. Take that, vertigo!
And finally, she’d like to become great at meditation—no easy task for someone whose mind is always on the go, but I definitely think she can do it. Thank you for being a constant source of wisdom and inspiration, Angelia. You’ve changed our lives for the better.
Pamela Sapio
