A civil engineer's journey to PMI and Volunteering by Stanislav Trayanov

Today in our Success Stories series we’ll get to know a civil engineer's journey to PMI or how a random (at first glance) event motivated him to become a volunteer for the largest PM conference in 2019 Europe, to certify as a Project Management Professional and to join PMI Bulgaria Chapter as part of the Extended Board of Directors in the role DAL Projects and Volunteering. All that in just 18 months.

Stanislav Trayanov is from Plovdiv. After graduating with a master's degree from UACEG he comes back to his hometown and started with a project management position in one of the leading real estate investment companies in the country. He is currently working with a team of 10 experienced engineers. He likes to share that for the past 12 years every day has been a new challenge for him, which is why he continues to work with great passion.

   Until 2018, he knew almost nothing about PMI, but his curiosity in knowledge and constant pursuit of self-improvement drew his attention to the annual PM conference topic (PMDAY Artificial intelligence), which PMI Bulgaria Chapter organized back in November 2018. His first impression was that the initiative would be oriented to the IT sector and had planned a few engagements that would allow him to stay not more than two hours, but the topics and speakers grabbed his attention strongly, so he did stay until the end of the conference.

   "This day literally changed the direction of my career development, giving a meaning to all the gained experience over the years, answering some of the questions that had been constantly popping up over the years and seeing the opportunity to increase the acquired knowledge many times over, through the new path that PMI had revealed to me!"

   What Stanislav realizes much later is that, among all other, PMI will let him meet with proven professionals, some of whom will later become friends.

   At the end of the conference, when Mihail Mihailov (President of PMI Bulgaria chapter) invited to the stage all volunteers behind the organization of the event, Stanislav instantly recognized himself in this role and almost immediately joined the team, which subsequently brought an unprecedented success, realizing the biggest PM conference in Europe, which attracted 850+ participants in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria.

   "For me, it was a great adventure, experience and, above all, many new acquaintances with experienced PMs, people with similar thoughts and aspirations, boldly crossing the boundaries of their professional interests, striving to set new standards."

   2019 marked a peak moment in the development of PMI Bulgaria Chapter, leaving a trace with several successfully implemented projects, a strong team of volunteers and leaders ready to lead the organization through new challenges. As a member of the PMI Bulgaria Chapter Team, Stanislav was motivated to continue working and continues to dedicate part of his time to the organization and the profession as a whole. He is convinced that this was and still is a well-invested time that pays off in return. Regardless of the circumstances, he continues, part of him will always continue to pulsate in the rhythm of PMI.

   "I hope that the initiatives of the organization will continue to attract more volunteers motivated to build on what has been already achieved, because the success is not a coincidence, but a well-planned and fulfilled goal."