ApplyBoard’s core values and their accompanying definitions are our compass—our guiding principles—in our mission to Educate the World. They align with our strategy, mission, and goals, and unite us with a shared purpose as we work together as one team to break down barriers to education all around the world.
This year, we’re shining a spotlight on our core values, including celebrating ApplyBoardians who are going above and beyond to embody them through an ongoing video series, Core Values in Action. One of those team members is Elias Srouji, Sales Training Specialist. Since his first day with ApplyBoard in April 2021, Elias has gone the extra mile to live and breathe our core value of Caring About Each Other, and today we’re celebrating him.
Keep reading and watch the video below to hear from Elias and Esra Akgol, Senior Director, Global HR and HR Operations, on how Elias embodies our core value of Caring About Each Other:
It’s Cool to Care
At ApplyBoard, Caring About Each Other means we embrace each other’s differences. Plus, it’s important that our team members are representative of the students we support. Our team is 52% female, speaks over 75 languages, and lives in more than 30 countries around the globe. With a diverse workforce comes new ways of thinking and solving problems, the ability to make stronger decisions, and agility. At ApplyBoard, our diversity is truly one of our biggest assets.
To Elias, “Caring About Each Other is ensuring we celebrate our differences and recognize our own unique attributes and skills.” This is a conscious effort stemming from his belief that “everyone should be able to feel like they belong and are included, which also, ultimately makes us a better team to work with as a whole, as an entire company, to achieve success.”
Caring About Each Other in Action
Elias is committed to supporting a more diverse and inclusive working environment. In addition to his dedicated work as a member of the Sales Enablement Team, he is the lead organizer of ApplyBoard’s annual Pride Month celebrations every June. Elias works tirelessly to plan events that are both celebratory and educational to ensure everyone feels accepted, respected, and a sense of belonging.
Something unique to ApplyBoard’s culture is ApplyClubs. ApplyClubs have been a fixture almost since the beginning of ApplyBoard, and are a space for like-minded ApplyBoardians across different teams and departments to come together over a shared passion or experience.
In addition to being an active member of the LGBTQ+ Club, Elias also founded Wine Club, where team members can bond over their shared love of wine. He also established Health and Fitness Hero, where he runs fitness challenges to promote the overall health and wellbeing of folks at ApplyBoard. “It’s important ApplyBoardians feel a sense of community outside of their roles at work, and a major reason why I founded Fitness Hero and Wine Club is to help build that community.” He went on to say that “when people feel a part of something they feel seen, and when they feel seen they feel cared for.”
Want to pursue a career in engineering at ApplyBoard? You’ll want to meet our dedicated Engineering Team!
Empathy and Understanding
As ApplyBoardians, we also practice empathy and understanding. Empathy is one’s ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This means that you’re able to put yourself in the shoes of a colleague to try to understand their perspective. Practicing empathy comes in many different forms. Perhaps it’s offering to help on a cross-functional project that you know is falling behind and could really use your support or reaching out to a coworker who is going through a tough time.
Elias shared that this can be as simple as “saying ‘Hi’ to ApplyBoardians when you see them in the office, or if you haven’t talked with someone in a while, just dropping them a message on Basecamp, saying, ‘Hey, how are you?’” He highlighted that it’s the little things that make an impact on someone’s day and ensure they feel cared for. A little empathy goes a long way, and can help you enhance your communication, build relationships, and make you a better overall team player.
It’s not every day you meet someone like Elias. Elias, we can’t stress enough how thankful we are to have you on the ApplyBoard Team. You make us all better by being you and demonstrating what it truly means to embody our core value of Caring About Each Other.
Want to join ApplyBoard on our mission to Educate the World? Explore our open roles!
