Watch What Makes You Feel Beautiful's Ambassador, Miss Wailea Savannah Gankiewicz's interview on her new role as F.L.Y First Love Yourself Facilitator. And her journey toward running for Miss Hawaii 2023
VOTE for SAVANNAH HERE
At wmyfb.org/ambassador
We are delighted to introduce Savannah Gankiewicz. She is What Makes You Feel Beautiful's Ambassador, F.L.Y facilitator and group program leader.
Savannah has been working diligently in training sessions learning to become a F.L.Y Attendant, a group facilitator for the F.L.Y First Love Yourself Program. The program is set to expand this January, by offering the workshop in a new location on Maui and opening the program to girls 14 and older.
Get to Know Savannah...
Aloha!
My name is Savannah Gankiewicz. I was born in Hawaii and today I am a proud resident of Maui. I am happy to share my personal story of persistence, resilience, growth and understanding. I’ve learned that it’s important to be kind to yourself, even when the world is not kind to you, to set goals but to be ready to pivot, and, most important, to give back to others.
I am a hardworking, successful international model, an entrepreneur, a marketing professional and an advocate for young women. I am the Ambassador for Maui-based What Makes You Feel Beautiful and a facilitator for the ‘First Love Yourself” training program. I’m grateful to be able to share my knowledge and experience with others and to lead the life changing and life affirming signature program of What Makes You Feel Beautiful: F.L.Y
As my career has blossomed, I have realized that my experiences and my journey toward personal growth could truly benefit other women – especially young women. I have increasingly felt that I had life skills to share. So I have become a strong and public advocate for loving one’s self, declaring publicly that what makes anyone beautiful is a personal sense of strength and self-worth. I have also learned that, through educational programs like F.L.Y, there are specific ways to achieve pride in oneself. I am committed to teaching young women specific ways to reach their potential – so they achieve the power to step into their higher goddess, their inner goddess and become the best version of themselves.
I’ve successfully pursued my lifelong dream to become an international model, to travel the world embracing new cultures, sharing my passion as a role model for women’s independence and self-confidence. Beginning at just 21 I was fortunate to be hired to model in many countries, represented by several renowned international modeling agencies. Among the many campaigns in which I was featured are an editorial spread of Cosmopolitan Philippines and the beauty campaign for Morphe Cosmetics. I was delighted to be chosen as the face of Wella for a hair campaign in LA, in 2019. My resume is robust. But I am so much more than my resume- much more than a list of my campaigns and jobs.
Each project and each experience taught me so much—and enhanced my marketing skills. Each project brought me first-hand knowledge of women’s need to feel ‘beautiful’, understanding that to feel beautiful is to be self-aware, confident, strong, and fulfilled. I learned that self-esteem is a critical factor to achieve any success and that personal worth does make you feel beautiful. Modeling opened doors to new worlds and introduced new cultures and brought many challenges too. I chose a career that took me away from home at a young age, but I benefited greatly, as I learned to grow as a woman, to work through setbacks, trials, difficulties- and yes, to absorb rejections. Living in the unique culture of southeast Asia helped me to find independence and to evolve as a confident and proud woman. I learned resilience, to love myself, to safeguard my self-esteem, and to focus on my own goals. As a model in Los Angeles, in a very competitive and difficult market, I often worked at different jobs just to pay the rent. Hardships became opportunities for me and each step in my journey reinforced valuable life skills. I have also truly learned compassion – understanding that everyone has a story- and not every chapter is a happy one.
My modeling journey has not been without its trials and risks. As anyone can imagine, there are hundreds of ‘no’s’ before a ‘yes’ at castings. I have had to truly learn to value myself so that every time I experienced rejection, I knew I was not failing—I was growing. To energize myself I chose intersecting routes- physical exercise, spiritual introspection, meditation, and healing affirmations – all became integral parts of my daily routine. I chose to grow my beauty from within, to be at ease and at peace with myself.
All of the challenges I have met, all of the dreams that I have realized and all of the disappointments I have experienced have helped me to become a young woman who wants to do more- and who will do more. I have learned business and marketing. I have learned to take risks and to rebound from disappointment. I have learned to work harder than anyone else. I have learned that self esteem is what makes one beautiful - and that today’s success requires setting new goals for tomorrow.
As I grow in my professional life— in business, and, as I flourish as a model who loves her career, it has become a true passion and mission for me to help women evolve to be the best version of themselves. I ask myself—and I always tell others: Look at yourself in the mirror every day and be the best person you can be- better than yesterday. You need your own goals – it’s not always about competition or thinking you have won something. Love yourself for who you are, for what matters most to you, be kind to those who, like you, are trying to ‘make it’ on the journey of life.
Happily, because of my diverse and extensive life experience – even at my young age- I can now lead three lives: as a successful model, as a professional marketing executive and entrepreneur, and as a pro-bono facilitator and role model, helping young women flourish on their own journeys, in my role as ambassador and life coach for What Makes You Feel Beautiful and F.L.Y in Maui. I’m proud of my journey – of how far I have come. I’m proud of where I am today. And I’m ready for what comes next.
From the age of 21, and through my adult life, I have passionately pursued modeling as a career path. During my professional modeling career, I have been signed and represented by three of the foremost international talent and modeling agencies, enabling me to travel and work on many international campaigns. Throughout my modeling career I have also honed my public relations skills, and studied sales, marketing, and communications techniques.
I am currently the Ambassador for What Makes You Feel Beautiful, established as a Maui-based 501c3 charity, and I have been formally trained as a facilitator for its signature program: F.L.Y (First love Yourself). I am fortunate to be able to share my skills, knowledge and experiences as a mentor to young women, helping them formulate and realize their dreams, working with them to increase their self-worth and confidence, and motivating them to pursue their passions as I have done.
We are each the sum of so many parts- work-life-love-service. I try to find balance every day, understanding that it is a true privilege to be able to pursue my dream to be an international model, to succeed as a communications professional, while helping my communities as a mentor and teacher.
I have chosen to share my life skills, knowledge and experiences as Ambassador for What Makes You Feel Beautiful, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring, training and support for vulnerable young women dealing with uncertainty, issues of self-esteem, and concerns about their future.
September 2022 - PRESENT, Maui, USA
THE AGENCY / MARKETING COORDINATOR
Responsibilities
My core responsibilities at The Agency (located in The Shops of Wailea)
are to create engaging marketing content that will attract key target clients and customers and to promote a social media presence. I collaborate with the agents to strategically
develop public relations and marketing strategies. I develop and produce diverse marketing materials, including listings, supplemental and promotional material and EDM’s (email and social media marketing campaigns). I monitor sales’ status for all properties, research current market trends and contribute ideas for brand improvement, working with the team.
WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BEAUTIFUL
A 501©3 NONPROFIT BASED IN MAUI
Ambassador and F.L.Y facilitator/ trainer/group leader
Follow Savannah on her personal Instagram page and on her WMYFB Ambassadors page
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