site.btaMariya Krasteva: The Heart and Soul of Bulgarian Professionals Club in Washington DC

Bulgarian Mariya Krasteva is the heart and soul of the Bulgarian Professional Club in Washington, DC. On October 21, at its first conference, the team of the organization will gather successful compatriots in America, BG Voice reports.

"I had to leave Bulgaria to really become Bulgarian,” Mariya says. “In America - who are you in this sea of nationalities? You need an identity, roots, otherwise they can just grind you down."

Krasteva managed to build a personal career, but also to become a co-founder and main driving force of the Bulgarian Professionals Club in the US capital.

Originally from Plovdiv, she studied at the English high school there, then went to the USA to pursue her post-secondary education. After graduating college and starting work at a bank, Mariya Krasteva decided to volunteer and help other compatriots succeed. 

"There are many NGOs in America where people volunteer, work for free, for their own satisfaction, and it's a very different mindset," she told the news outlet. 

In 2013, Mariya Krasteva and other Bulgarians founded the Bulgarian Professionals Club to help compatriots in Washington DC in their professional development. The club also develops cultural projects to give back to Bulgaria, and collaborates with the Sofia-based NGO "Tuk-Tam" of people who studied and worked abroad before returning to Bulgaria.