From Uncertainty to Purpose: How One Job Changed My Life
I believe finding my job through Crossover was more than luck - it felt like destiny.
My journey started at a difficult crossroads. I had just divorced my husband, and my daughter was only two years old. We were alone in Georgia - immigrants with no relatives, no friends, and no safety net. I was responsible for everything: making ends meet, raising a child, and somehow building a future from scratch.
In the beginning, I turned to familiar ground. I started searching for a remote job in the Russian market, where I had worked before. I received several offers, but none of them felt right. They lacked the spark, the sense of purpose I was looking for. So I made a bold decision - to explore international opportunities.
Taking the Leap with Alpha School
I opened LinkedIn and came across a position at Alpha School that instantly caught my attention. I applied, not knowing this would become my dream job for the next year. It was the first role I applied for outside my home market - and it changed everything. The application process was relatively easy - definitely easier than some other assessments I've done before. Though the cognitive assessment was stressful since English is not my native language, and some questions that were meant to test cognition ended up testing English knowledge for me. I got the offer really quickly after my final interview and was very surprised - I thought it would take longer and that I might not be the best candidate.
At Alpha, I found more than a job. I found a team that was extraordinary both professionally and personally. Unlike my previous experiences — where bringing my sick baby to a video call would earn disapproving glances - here, many of my teammates were parents too. We supported each other. We smiled when kids popped up in Zoom calls. There was warmth, empathy, and understanding woven into the very fabric of our work culture.
Building Trust and Leading Innovation
When I got to Alpha, Stef (the director of Alpha) told me that she wanted me to build a team within one month from the start. I was met with doubts by team members and lots of them didn't trust me. I coached them, organized our work, we created a vision together, and even had the first online team-building session. I received incredible positive feedback, and it was an honor to hear it from such gifted people. That moment I felt like, "Yes, I'm a great leader."
I led the Life Skills department, where we built programs to develop and measure life skills in kids using AI. We were the first team in the world (as to my knowledge) to develop a public speaking program for kids based on AI tools. It was a unique case, and one of the AI companies even interviewed me to understand the processes. And the best part? When we launched a public speaking program, I practiced it with my daughter. Soon after, she became the only child in her group to give an entire kindergarten lesson on bees - complete with visuals, gestures, and confident delivery. Watching her speak, I felt an overwhelming mix of pride and gratitude. I was growing as a professional - and growing as a mother too.
Living the Digital Nomad Dream
Today, I work with 2 Hour Learning, another incredible company I discovered through Crossover. I'm responsible for the Language curriculum and its efficiency - so students can learn 2X in 2 hours and pass standardized tests easily. What I love most is the freedom - the flexibility to work when and where I want. Our team is global, open-minded, and supportive. There's no stress about clocking in at a specific time. Instead, I have the freedom to live, work, and truly be present for my daughter.
Over the past year, we've traveled to 13 countries: Georgia, Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Italy, Germany, India, and China. Now we're settled in Bali. I'm pretty good at finding the best spots for kids that also allow me to work nearby. For example, in Bali there are "kids cafes" that run programs for children - like walking through gardens or jungle, picking fruit, cooking meals, learning local dances, doing crafts - while parents can sit in a nearby cafe with good internet. My daughter is four now, a bright little global citizen with friends from all over the world. She's growing up with a sense of openness and possibility that I never imagined for myself at her age.
Why Crossover Works for the Right People
People often say that Crossover's culture can be challenging - and they're right, in a way. But I believe it simply attracts the right kind of people. If you're someone who wants to make a real impact, who's not afraid of solving complex problems, who dares to step into the unknown - then it's the perfect place for you.
Crossover gave me the tools to shape the life I wanted - for myself, and for my daughter. And for that, I'll always be grateful.
AI-first remote workers.