One Person Believing in Your Potential: Vivian Seixas's Mentorship Journey

"Sometimes all it takes is one person believing in your potential a little louder than your own self-doubt. And that can accelerate your growth in ways that are hard to explain until you experience it yourself."

Vivian Seixas is based in São Paulo, Brazil, working as a Business Coordinator at Plan A Technologies, a Las Vegas-based software development and tech consultancy and advisory company. She also works closely with the Chairman as an Executive Business Partner. Her role sits somewhere between operations, communication, strategy, and making sure important things move forward.

She's pursuing an MBA while holding a PhD in Linguistics and years of academic work in Brazil. Her career path isn't linear. She moved from academia in Brazil into the American corporate tech world.

"If you look at my career path from the outside, it probably seems like a dramatic shift. And it was. But it also taught me that reinvention is possible at any stage and that many of the skills we develop throughout life end up connecting in unexpected ways."

Plan A saw her potential and opened doors that changed her career trajectory. Through the Global Gaming Women mentorship program, she found someone else who would do the same.

Walking Without a Map

Vivian joined the program as a mentee. She was intellectually restless, studying constantly, reading everything she could, but still feeling lost. "I needed perspective, direction, someone who could help me identify the gaps I couldn't see by myself."

The recommendation came from an unexpected place. Her coworker Heather Stivason, who's part of the GGW community, told her about the program. "She told me about the mentorship program, and I remember having an immediate reaction: 'Oh. This is exactly what I need!' Sometimes your life changes because someone recommends the right thing at the right moment."

Finding Herself in Others

Vivian arrived intimidated. Coming from academia, being Latina, transitioning into the corporate world later than many around her, she carried imposter syndrome in creative ways. She worried she was somehow "behind."

But something shifted. "I realized almost every woman there carried some version of that feeling too. Different stories, different backgrounds, different countries, but the same humanity underneath it all. And instead of judgment, I found generosity, curiosity, encouragement. Women genuinely wanting to help other women grow. That changed something in me."

Seeing What She Couldn't See

Vivian's mentor, Oana Nicoleanu, has an ability to recognize strengths that Vivian wasn't giving herself credit for. "She would point out things about my career transition, resilience, and growth that I had normalized or minimized internally. And hearing those things from someone I admire deeply impacted me."

It changed how she sees herself. "It made me realize how harsh I had been with myself for a long time. Today, I look at myself with much more kindness, confidence, and appreciation for everything I've already overcome and achieved."

Emotional Intelligence and Clarity

Her mentor's qualities had the biggest impact. "She has this ability to recognize strengths, accomplishments, and qualities in me that I honestly wasn't even giving myself credit for. She has a very calm and welcoming presence, but at the same time, she's incredibly precise and insightful. Somehow, she manages to make me feel supported and helps me see things more clearly and objectively. I leave conversations feeling both comforted and challenged."

What amazed Vivian most was how practical the mentorship became. "Since our very first meeting, I've been able to apply lessons from our conversations almost immediately (sometimes within the same week) and see real results. Every time we meet, I leave with more clarity, more confidence, and usually one less thing sitting unresolved on my mental list."

How Mentorship Actually Works

Before this experience, Vivian saw mentorship mostly as career guidance. That changed. "What I discovered is that great mentorship changes much more than our professional decisions. It actually changes how we see ourselves."

She's direct about the impact. "Sometimes all it takes is one person believing in your potential a little louder than your own self-doubt. And that can accelerate your growth in ways that are hard to explain until you experience it yourself."

Resources for Tech

For women in her field, Vivian recommends How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. "I know some people see it as a cliché recommendation, but honestly, there's a reason it has lasted for generations. The insights about communication, empathy, relationships, and human behavior still apply every single day. Technology changes fast, industries evolve, tools come and go, but people are still people."

She also emphasizes learning AI. "We're still in the early stages of this transformation, and I genuinely believe AI has already become indispensable (as computers once did). The people who learn how to work alongside it now will have a huge advantage in the future."

For Those Considering It

Vivian's advice to someone thinking about joining is to: "Just do it. Seriously. Joining this mentorship program was one of the best decisions I've made for myself, both personally and professionally. In only six months, I feel like I've grown five years."

She removes the barrier of readiness. "You don't need to feel fully ready. You don't need to have everything figured out. Sometimes growth starts exactly when you allow yourself to step into spaces that feel a little intimidating at first."

And what you might find isn't what you expected. "You may join looking for professional guidance and end up finding confidence, belonging, and a completely new version of yourself."

From Academia to Belonging

Vivian arrived at this program carrying the weight of imposter syndrome, the anxiety of career transition, the question of whether she was behind. What she found was recognition - not from the program telling her she was worthy, but from her mentor pointing out what she'd already achieved.

In six months, she moved from walking without a map to walking with clarity and confidence. From academia in Brazil to tech in Las Vegas to mentorship that changed how she sees herself. One person believing in her potential made all the difference.