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Mariam Akiyode | Professional Volunteer

@journeywithaina

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Documenting thoughtful and intentional work.
Social Impact | Development | Purpose | Advocacy
Volunteering across industries!🛫
Personal page @aina1st

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Volunteering isn’t just about showing up, taking cute group pictures, and having something nice to post afterwards. There’s also the part where you have to do the actual work, even when it’s not particularly exciting.

For me, it was making sure attendees at the CBN Localization Round Table organised by @sparkmarkets had a smooth experience.

For you, it might mean standing for hours longer than you planned, doing a task nobody will notice, or repeating the same information over and over again because someone needs to hear it.

And I think that’s a part of volunteering we don’t talk about enough. The work doesn’t always look exciting while you’re doing it, and not every contribution comes with a picture to show for it.

So yes, take the pictures, enjoy the experience, make friends but remember that there’s actual work to be done, and how you approach that work matters too.💯💫

#volunteer

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I’ve been volunteering since 2016, and I would love to share what the journey has been like so far.❤️

If you’ve been thinking about volunteering, let this be your sign to take that first step! You never know whose life you could impact or how much the experience could change yours.

Follow for my honest volunteering stories, practical lessons, and the life behind the work.

#mariamakiyode #aina1st #volunteer #fyp #explore

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Happy Sunday🌸🩵

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I need to know … does your job description actually match what you do?

#mariamakiyode #nonprofit #lifestyle #construction #projectandoperations

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If you’ve been trying to make yourself fit into the box because the internet told you that’s how personal branding works, tell me what’s in your box. I want to know who I’m building this community with.

Be honest, what’s your biggest struggle with personal branding?

#aina1st #personalbranding #30dayschallenge contentchallenge #consistency

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The last time I checked, nobody sent me a message asking me to do this, but guess what? I love it.😂😭

I just feel like I owe myself the chance to create and document something I genuinely love.

For the next 30 days, you’ll be seeing me on here and I hope I have the strength and resilience to stay consistent, stay true to myself and enjoy the process.

And the beautiful part? I won’t be doing it alone. I get to go through this @thedarlingsugar which honestly makes it a little less scary and a lot more exciting.🥹

#aina1st #personalbranding #documenting #lifestyle

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We can debate all day about which jobs AI will replace but can it truly replace negotiation, bargaining, or diplomacy? Think about it.🤔

This project reminded me that some of the most valuable skills in project and operations management aren’t technical at all, they’re the human ones (the soft skills) e.g Negotiation, Influence, Emotional intelligence etc.

Knowing when to negotiate, when to push, when to compromise, knowing how to bring people with different interests to a common ground. Because beyond the plans, timelines, and processes, getting people with different priorities to move toward one goal is what keeps a project moving. But bringing people together is still a deeply human skill that can never be replaced.

Do you think AI will ever get there?

#site #construction #projectmanagement #reel

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If someone had asked me, “Can you successfully manage a project in an industry you have never worked in?”

A few months ago, my answer would have been a firm NO.

Then I said YES to managing a library renovation project with absolutely no background in construction. The challenge wasn’t that I was unqualified to manage a project; it was that I had to manage it in an unfamiliar domain.🦺 🏗️

And somehow, I went from being a Project & Operations Officer to managing artisans, procurement, timelines, and everything in between. 👷🏽‍♀️

This series is a glimpse into the lessons this project has taught me so far, the good, the difficult, and the unexpected.

Part 1.

Would you have said yes?

#site #aina1st #mariamakiyode #construction

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Should I just switch careers to construction at this point?
#site #buildingrenovation #mariamakiyode #projectmanager #construction

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Moments from Africa Tech Expo 3.0 2026

👖: @wearsistal

#AfricaTechExpo #explore #moments #volunteering

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What a privilege to be a child of God!💃🏼💗

Skirt: @wearsistal

#aina1st #explore #ootd #explorepage

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Last year I made a list, not a vision board, not a prayer journal entry but an actual list of the people and organisations I was going to work with for free, intentionally.

I identified the people I wanted to learn from as a Project and Operations professional seeking to gain knowledge and experience from industry experts @eventhivedotng and @yellowlyfehq .

Two organisations behind some of the biggest tech and corporate events in the country. I wrote their names down and decided I was going to be in their world whether they knew it yet or not.

People thought I was mad. Why would you offer your skills for free? Because access isn’t bought, it’s earned and sometimes you have to fund your own introduction to the rooms you were always supposed to be in.

Lagos Tech Fest wasn’t a job. It was a decision I made last year finally showing up in real life.

I reached out to the CEO of Eventhive directly. He connected me to his operations team and just like that I was in. I showed up, managed volunteers, directed panelists and VIPs and made content in the middle of it all. And somewhere between the chaos and the cameras, I met the CEO of Yellowlyfe @seyiolaniyan_ and we connected on the spot.

The kind of connection that doesn’t need a lot of words. I also got to meet people from my alma mater OAU and ex corps members from Edo State. The kind of full circle moments you can’t plan, only position yourself for.

Funny enough, I got to connect with @big_jhules my senior from the same school and the same department, OAU, International Relations.😅💞 It’s really such a small world we live in.

This is what pro bono looks like when it’s strategic, not desperation but positioning.

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