10 years ago, Erica came to Germany from Kenya with a dream: to get into a university, graduate and join a multinational company, because she knew that was the only way out of poverty. But sometimes, we’re met with adversity. The fire and desire of climbing toward your dreams and goals can burn out due to life’s challenges. Erica was quickly reminded that her origin, gender and skin colour were things that would directly or indirectly play into her longterm career success. So she used those challenges to build a business idea: mentoring international students and graduates pursuing a career in Germany.

Through her experiences, she learned one of life’s important lessons: Fear, doubt and adversity will tempt you to let go of your dreams and goals, but to hold on and achieve, you must develop the
fearlessness to win so we can step into our purpose and walk in greatness. Erica’s talk will teach us how to develop that fearlessness. Erica Burett came to Germany 10 years ago to work as an Au Pair. A country she didn't know anybody and barely spoke the language. She financed her studies with cleaning jobs, and the first time she heard the word "Werkstudent" was from fellow students at the university. Without any connections, she worked her way up, bit by bit. Her first career breakthrough was at an investment bank, and today she works as a consultant at one of the world's largest consulting firms. Driven by the hardships she went through finding a job after university, she founded the first mentoring platform that helps international students and graduates in Germany successfully transition into the workplace, which has seen tremendous growth. Her story has been featured in podcasts and newspapers, and she attributes her professional success to a single mindset: Fearlessness. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx