Tabita Kokora
Delivery Coordinator, Desert
I was born in Serbia and my family immigrated to the United States when I was 5. I grew up in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. I wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything. It’s where I found my love for Broadway shows, different cultures (including my own), history and traveling. I couldn’t live without my big fat Balkan family (my dad is Serbian/Romanian and my mom is Macedonian). I have 3 sisters, all different yet a lot of ways alike. Whether it’s feeling like Nancy Drew trying to get out of an Escape Room, going to a concert (Twenty One Pilots are the best, just saying), going to Disneyland or traveling, we always find a way to have fun! I graduated from Arizona State University with degrees in Marketing and Tourism Management as well as a minor in Spanish. I studied abroad in Spain and I encourage everyone to do it, especially my sisters so I can go visit them. After being in the hospitality industry for a few years, I started learning about Agile and Scrum and immediately took to it. My goal is to help teams and clients be successful in creating products that met human needs and/or solve their problems. I’m happy to have a chance to do this every day at Neudesic!
If you had to describe yourself using four words, it would be…
- Introvert (that practices at being an extrovert)
- Traveler
- Dog person
- Planner
What is your favorite weekend trip?
So here’s a few: New York (I get to revisit old memories and make new ones every time), Prague (gorgeous city and beer is cheaper than water) and Macedonia (because I love revisiting my roots and helping make ajvar for the winter)
Sharing our core values is very important to us. What does Passion, Discipline, Innovation, Teaming and Integrity mean to you?
Passion Without passion, life is boring. What excites you? What gets you animated when you talk about it? What passion is to me is the drive to pursue something even when it gets hard or a little uncomfortable. Life is meant to be well lived and that doesn’t happen without facing challenges head on, learning and growing as well as finding joy in what you do every day (some days will be easier than others). Discipline Discipline to me is the self-control and resolve to practicing something until you master it. Whether it’s at work or outside of work, we all have in mind something about ourselves that we want to improve. The question is what are you going to do about it? Waiting around until the opportunity comes along is not a great strategy. Finding areas and people that you can invest in and learn from is! It takes time and effort but the reward is there. Like all of Neudesic’s core values, you are not only impacting yourself but everyone you interact with. Innovation Innovation is having an open mind and not being afraid of anything you don’t understand or is unknown. Innovation comes from trying to solve real problems using different perspectives, experiences and technologies. This is something that gets amplified when people get together. Look how far we’ve come and just imagine where we could go. Don’t be afraid of sharing your ideas! Teaming Working in teams is critical to success in a project yet it’s something we’ve complained about all throughout school (group projects, anyone?). Once we’ve seen how a high performing team with a shared goal works together, we change our opinion. Is it smooth and easy all the time? No, but it is worth it! Everyone brings to the table different skills and perspectives to make something better than one person could have done it alone. Integrity Integrity is key to good business and good character. It’s about not compromising your morals as well not being afraid to fail and be honest about it. At the end of the day, your character is something that you have to build with consistency in your words and action