Meet Gratsiela Stancheva, ITSM Team Lead at Do IT Wise. She is the second woman that ever joined the company and is known for being a true leader who is always helping and sharing her knowledge. 

With her passion and dedication to the IT field, no wonder she is a proud winner of three Do IT Wise awards so far. In her free time, she loves to learn more about interior design and color scheming.

I am…

Hello, my name is Gratsiela Stancheva, more known as Georgieva before I got married. I have always been passionate about mathematics and IT, even when I was a child. Despite studying in a Foreign Language School in my hometown Dobrich, I always knew that this was not my path. Maybe it all started when I was helping my parents in the family business with shops and was fascinated with the numbers.  

So, for my bachelor’s degree, I proceeded with Software Engineering at Sofia University, which you can usually hear is among the hardest specialties. It was one of the most fulfilling and also challenging times for me, but when you have the passion and right mindset, you can get the maximum from every educational program. So, I am proud that I always stick to my vision, and it has proven to be the right one for me so far.  

At the end of the first year, I found a job as a PHP Developer in a small company, and then I joined Do IT Wise.

My role in Do IT Wise

I started in the company five years ago as a JavaScript Developer and was only the second girl in the company after our CAO Nadia Betovska. I still remember it as one of the most fun times in the company when Nadia instructed the guys to behave in the office because more girls were arriving. 😀 My career development continued with the role of Senior Technical Consultant, and currently, I am a Team Lead of one of our ITSM teams.  

As the famous phrase states, “sharing is caring”, and my personal philosophy totally matches it. Whenever I can, I share my experience and knowledge with my colleagues. My current role allows me to now be a mentor to my teammates and have closer communication with them. Although managing people is challenging at times, I find it very fulfilling.  

My time is separated between working directly with the team for two days and three days I dedicate to analysis, consultancy, and development for the projects. On Fridays, we always have a coffee meeting in the morning to bond with colleagues and discuss everything besides work. It is a lovely tradition that makes us better and stronger as a team. 

Why Do IT Wise?

My previous workplace lacked growth opportunities in the fields I wanted to develop further. The learning process was through making mistakes on your own and trying to extract some productive conclusions without proper mentorship. And don’t get me wrong – I enjoy trying new things and learning from that experience, but now this is something that I want to change when I am mentoring people – to provide guidance and support along the way. 

In Do IT Wise, I found the fantastic chance to be one of the few pioneers to work with the ServiceNow platform that is now the leading Digital Transformation software. We started to learn it together, and the diversity in the team in terms of skills and experience helped us a lot to grow as professionals. With the ever-changing IT landscape, new technologies, and innovations, I still find my job exciting and do it with joy.

What I love about Do IT Wise?

The first thing I love here is the variety of projects with different scopes, the chance to work with the biggest clients in numerous industries, and the learning opportunities.  

Second, but maybe most important, are the people in the company. Being part of Do IT Wise makes you feel like you belong to a community of like-minded, extraordinary people with different nationalities, ethnicities, and worldviews.  

Working here also brought me another precious gift – I met my husband working on a project together. So, what is there not to love? 

My most significant achievement 

As a personal achievement, I can say getting my bachelor’s degree without a single failed exam. Despite having a different background in school, I gave my best and worked hard to become a great specialist and be independent at a young age. 

Workwise, the company allowed me to develop my soft skills, which as an introvert, were not my strongest suit initially. Now I lead workshops with confidence and pass my knowledge to my teammates.

Sharing is caring

I often say that my work also is my hobby. I love to be up to date with all the innovations and new information in the IT field. So, I read specialized online media, watch webinars and follow ServiceNow experts to educate myself in my free time.

My biggest lesson

If something in life is going extremely hard, maybe you should reconsider if it is right for you. And if you feel you are good at something, you should stick to your gut feeling and continue to go in that direction. 

My hobbies

My latest passion is interior design. I enjoy reading and watching videos on colors and the sensation they bring, furniture placement, decorating rules, lighting, etc. Especially I love the transitional design style. 

My future

When I look back in 10 years, I want to see that I gave my absolute best in everything I did, reached my maximum potential, and gained value for every experience. And hopefully to be blessed with a big happy family. 

A word from the wise

The truth is that our company offers niche work, and if you are adaptable enough, you can achieve an awful lot and then use that experience in every aspect of your life. But again, this is done with patience and investment in time. 

What did you want to be when you were little?

I have always been very creative, and for as long as I can remember, I have loved art and expressing myself through it. I wanted to become a singer or a painter back then. 

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Chocolate! 

Personal “motto” – spoken or unspoken? 

To be more patient and not so emotional sometimes. 

What is your favorite family tradition?

My favorite tradition is to make a special kind of cookies with jam with my grandmother.  

What is one thing you will never do again? 

No! I love the way my life is and would not change a thing. 

What is the place you would never go to, your favorite destination, and the one you dream to visit? 

I would love to visit the Dominican Republic in the near future. 

Learn more about our fantastic colleagues in “Meet the Wise Team”. Meet another of our amazing ladies – Plamena Mucheva.