Codru Vrabie: “AUBG Shaped me Into Who I am Today”

Some see entrepreneurship as the process of “turning ideas into money” but that is not Codru Vrabie’s vision. An inspiring personality mixed with flawless professionalism and a healthy dose of sarcasm is what one sees in Codru, but that is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. A visionary, an idealist and a dreamer all  combined in an entrepreneurial spirit is what makes Codru the contemporary superhero, fighting for justice. Except for the cape. He does not have a cape.

Codru graduated from AUBG in 1998, majoring in International Relations and Political Science and minoring in psychology. Before AUBG, he had studied engineering and law in his native Romania, which made patently clear to him the benefits of a liberal arts education once he experienced it at AUBG. While studying here, he not only showed remarkable curiosity about his academic subjects, but was also a very active member of the AUBG community…..Radio Aura, Basketball Club, Political Club and VoX (the student newspaper).

The charismatic Romanian points to AUBG as having been pivotal in his personal development: “I can’t imagine being able to do the things I do now without having spent my years at AUBG. AUBG prepares its students for an entrepreneurial future without their even realizing it. It’s a nuanced example of positive manipulation.” According to Codru, AUBG creates the need to pursue excellence and to “dive into innovative stuff” through its courses and extracurricular activities. “AUBG gives you some kind of an addiction to trying new things, a special love for trial-and-error, a certain ease of challenging the status quo, as well as an ability to engage others in the process, and that’s what makes AUBG such an amazing experience!” says Codru passionately.

Codru used to chair a small but important NGO where he did advocacy
trainings on the relations between NGOs and local government, and participated in the monitoring of Romania’s implementation of EU anti-corruption strategies. At some point, Codru plans to complete a PhD focused on reforming the EU into a larger federation based on the German and Austrian models.

In the meantime, his formula for success involves seeing problems as challenges, and turning ideas into opportunities that add value to communities.  At the end of the day, his community entrepreneurship model demands a passionate search for solutions that work and engender support from other people and bring change that positively impacts people’s lives.  Now if he would just drop his cigarette smoking habit, he would indeed be our super hero.

Story by Nelly Ovcharova

Article reprinted with permission.
Originally published on AUBG website.

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