Romina Veseli started with Belgravia Leisure New Zealand in June 2015 after we won our first contract in New Zealand.
Romina says “I was hired as the Fitness and Recreation Manager for Franklin Pool and Leisure. I then moved into a Client Support Coordinator role in our New Zealand Support Office. After a couple of years working with Belgravia, I decided to go overseas and had my first child.”
After being overseas, Romina came back to Belgravia Leisure and is now working with the New Zealand Support Office as the Project Developer.
What are your highlights/magic moments working with Belgravia?
“My first stand out memory was actually my first two weeks working for Belgravia Leisure. We didn’t have an office yet so we were working out of a colleague’s house. Belgravia Leisure in New Zealand had such a great “start-up” company feel, that experience taught me a lot about work and myself.” Romina explained.
“I’ll also never forget being invited to attend the Belgravia Leisure College (BLC) in Melbourne. I loved meeting the senior leadership team and learning more about the Belgravia philosophy.”
“Some daily magic, for me is witnessing people develop a sense of belonging in our venues (let alone achieving their goals!). I think we can often underestimate how daunting it can be for someone to make the first courageous step into our venues. Additionally, feeling instantly at home after my time away was a great highlight.”
Tell us about the people you work with
“The people I work with are fun and down to earth. Everyone is encouraging and wants to work as a team to do a great job. I find everyone in the team so approachable, within any department and any location, from senior leadership to casual staff. I’m a people person, so I love being around like-minded people,” Romina explains.
What is your favourite thing about your career?
“The diversity. I’ve been able to work in different roles, interacting with a range of people, those I work with and all our customers. It’s a bit cliché but often no two days are never the same. There is plenty of challenges and room for development and growth.”
“I’ve had times where my career has been my life and more recently I feel I’ve struck a great balance and work is a great complimentary aspect to my life. I am truly grateful for both!”
What are three things you’re most passionate about in life and why?
- People! I love meeting new people, I love interacting with new people and hearing their story, my aim is to always help people and if possible leave them better than I found them (our industry is very accommodating to this passion).
- Tea and coffee! I’ll usually have a cup of either in my hand most of the day. You can get to know a lot about a person over a warm drink.
- My family! My nuclear family and my work family. Often we can spend more time with our work family than our actual family. It’s important to like them both.
“My advice to anyone reading this is TALK, talk to everyone. Take the time to speak to customers, to management and everyone in-between. If you get the opportunity to meet someone from another site make the effort to connect.”
“The conversation doesn’t even have to be about work. Get to know the people you work with to help connect and realise that although we all may have our differences we all have similarities too. Never underestimate a conversation,” Romina concluded.
