It's no secret that the EmpowermeEOS community continues to grow on leaps and bounds with a continual increase in the number of students in the program and this is all thanks to our sponsors who through their donations make it possible for us to help youths in marginalised communities in Africa.
In this post, we take you through an interview with one of our very first Sponsors, Katie Roman, as we discuss some pivotal issues.
Owolabi Jeremy:
Katie Roman, can you tell us a few things about yourself?Katie Roman:
Yes. I’m a mom of 2 living in Oregon. I have a background in Seo SEM project management and marketingOwolabi Jeremy:
Can you tell us more about this?Katie Roman:
Sure. I worked for Nolo.com, a hospital IT dept, then Red Jacket West that specialized in E learning. The goal was to grow the online businesses as much as possible to sell productOwolabi Jeremy:
Oh wow. So what do you do currently?Katie Roman:
Currently CJ and I are supported by the WPS system on Telos helping the foundation with their marketing initiativesOwolabi Jeremy
Who is CJ?Katie Roman:
She is an active community member in the Telos ecosystemOwolabi Jeremy:
What's the WPS system about?Katie Roman:
Basically, anyone can apply to get WPs funds for their project or initiative. If the community votes for the initiative you get the amount of Telos you applied for for your projectOwolabi Jeremy:
Wow. So basically their goal is to try and help good projects and initiatives get funding?Katie Roman:
Exactly. They also have the grant program and a bounty system so there are multiple ways to try and get funding for your project.Owolabi Jeremy:
Oh. So how do projects apply to get these funds?Katie Roman:
Each system has a different way to apply. For the WPS, you download the Sqrl wallet and walk through the steps provided there. For the grant, you apply by email [email protected]. I’mNot sure about the bounty system. I need to look and find out.
Owolabi Jeremy:
Okay. Please do find out and get back to me. But moving on. Being a mother and a professional, how do you manage shuffling between your family life and work?Katie Roman:
Well, I’m lucky because I’m a stay-at-home Mom. My husband works and I am at home. So I work when the children are napping or with family, I’m very lucky to have the support to be home with them and workOwolabi Jeremy:
That's really awesome! How did you learn about cryptocurrency and what has been your experience so far though?Katie Roman:
Yeah, it is fun! I learned (about cryptocurrency) when my son was born, almost 3 years ago now. I was bored at home and wanted something to do. My friend suggested I learn about crypto. I found steem and read articles there. From there, I learned about Dan. Then he announced EOS and I joined the EOS community.Owolabi Jeremy:
How long have you been in EOS?Katie Roman:
Since before the ICO started. About 2 months beforeOwolabi Jeremy:
Wow. That means you must have a lot of knowledge about EOS. Can you share a little of your knowledge with our readers?Katie Roman:
I have some but no where near the BPs and developers knowledge base but sure. Is there anything you want to know in particular?Owolabi Jeremy:
How the blockchain functions, what is a BP and what do they do? What is dev? Just the basic stuffs you think our students should know.Katie Roman:
Sure. The blockchain is a network of servers that run the eosio software. BPs run their own servers and can be voted in and out of paid positions by coin holders. Developers create the Dapps that can run on the chain. The eos coin represents cpu and bandwidth and ram on the chain, so if you own coins you own part of the chainOwolabi Jeremy:
Oh. . . so owning EOS is an integral part of being on the blockchain? The more you own, the more power you have?Katie Roman:
Yes. However, you don’t have to own coins to participate in the community though. You just wouldn’t be able to vote for BPs. But you can always buy tokens for the Dapps that run on the chainOwolabi Jeremy:
What are Dapps and how do they run in relation to the EOS blockchain?Katie Roman:
Dapps are really just applications that run on the blockchain. They are called Dapps because the D stands for decentralized. So any app that you have could theoretically be made into a Dapp that runs on the blockchain. So an app like Facebook could run on a blockchain, or an app like WhatsApp etc. the sky is the limit!Owolabi Jeremy:
Do you have a favourite dapp?Katie Roman:
I currently do not. Weirdly enough, I’m so busy I have not gotten to try many!Owolabi Jeremy:
Back to the topic of EOS though. The price of the EOS coin has not been stable in recent months and it's causing a lot of upset and uncertainty. What do you think is the cause of this and what's your general take on the issue?Katie Roman:
I’m not sure, I do not have any insider knowledge, but my guess would be speculators. They know that there is an upside and humans are irrational when it comes to markets. So they sell when it’s high bringing down the price, etcOwolabi Jeremy:
Yeah.. That's true. Before we move on to discuss EmpowermeEOS, do you have any predictions as to what the price could be by Dec 2019? Just for fun though.Katie Roman:
Hahahahaha. Okay, well this is not financial advice. But I think it will be 6 - 7 USDOwolabi Jeremy:
Hmmn.. Quite conservative, I think I like that. Now to EmpowermeEOS though. How did you get to learn about the program?Katie Roman:
Well @tojukaka and I met through ONO so I had been friends with him and have great respect for him. I know anything he is involved is legit. At the same time the concept is so cool and EOS is so easy to send, it just made sense to contribute.
Owolabi Jeremy:
Yes and your contribution was able to cater for the sponsorship of three students, Tessy, Victoria and Deborah. How does that make you feel, being able to impact lives?Katie Roman:
Of course it feels great. Being able to help such good people is an honor and a blessing. On the other hand, I think these ladies are a great investment. They are smart and will help the EOS community. Everyone that is able should think of sponsoring, as the bigger the community gets, the better for everyoneOwolabi Jeremy:
Yes, helping people is truly a blessing and the whole EOS community should be participating in helping these people.Do you have any words of advice though, for the beneficiaries? Anything you think could be of help to them in their journey? Tips, to say the least
Katie Roman:
That’s a great question. I can only really say what works for me. And for me, what worked was volunteering to do work for various organizations and BPs. Then when I had a body of work and a rep in the community I started charging for my work, and now I’m trying to set up my own little businessAgain, I’m lucky I have the time to pursue these endeavors, I know most people don’t, but if anyone has a skill and the spare time they can do great things. The community is so welcoming and open
Owolabi Jeremy:
Thanks for the advice. I'm sure they'll take note of that.You mentioned trying to set up your own business. Care to tell us about that? Maybe a little hinting?
Katie Roman:
Hahahahaha. Oh no, it’s not something that will occur anytime in the near future. Just some marketing ideas for blockchain in general.Of course if that ever does happen I’ll need the empowereos community’s help 😊
Owolabi Jeremy:
That's great. We'll be sure to help you. Anyway, thanks a lot for your time❤️Katie Roman:
Thank you for the interview 🧡🧡🧡JOIN US
You can partner with this initiative by sponsoring a student.
You can make donations to the following EOS account: empowermeeos.
$160 can sponsor a smartphone and internet subscription (for three months) for an EmpowermeEOS Student.
Remember that if you sponsor a student you are not sponsoring one person as your seed would be replicated.
Our students are mandated to buy a smartphone and subscription for someone else at the end of their study.
There would be a chain reaction because as your beneficiary graduates from the program, he is mandated to sponsor someone else.
Our students are acquainted with their sponsors and the student's educational progress can be tracked via the EOS blockchain.
Our target is to empower 1000 teenagers/youths with this initiative before the end of 2020.
We also hope to accumulate 10 million Karma tokens so that we can effectively give incentives to our students and EmpowermeEOS volunteers/mentors in the form of upvotes.
You can learn more about EmpowermeEOS, how to partner with us or become a student, via the following mediums:
Our Website:
https://empowermeeos.orgTwitter:
https://twitter.com/empowermeeosTelegram:
t.me/empowermeeosInstagram:
https://instagram.com/empowermeeosFacebook:
https://facebook.com/empowermeeosEmail: [email protected]