ABOUT ME
Hi I'm Mitsue Penavic
I am the founder of Apricus Co. Ltd., a certified counselor, an education consultant, and a mom of three multilingual children.
"I am here to share my knowledge with you and your family to help you build your dream family home with love, compassion, connection and trust."
Business Consultant to Counselor?
My career has always been about listening and communicating with people, filling the gap between languages, and helping people solve problems. Now I am pursuing the same with parents, families and caregivers.
Where did you grow up? What was your childhood like?
I grew up in Japan though I was fortunate to have a lot of international exposure. My father, who was a WW II survivor, was passionate about helping international students studying in Japan. From time to time, we hosted students from abroad and traveled outside of Japan. When I was twelve, my father said to me, “You will go study abroad someday” and I quickly responded, “Never!”. Soon after, for my 7th-grade summer, my sister and I were enrolled in a summer camp. We flew to the UK on our own for two weeks. Even though I was terrified at the beginning, I discovered the joy of communicating with people from all over the world in English.
When did you go study abroad? What did you study in college?
At fifteen, I decided to study abroad and began boarding school in the US. Since I spoke little to no English, I was not prepared to take Chemistry Honors classes nor write essays in English. Since my school did not offer any ESL classes, I studied every night after lights-out. After high school, I continued my studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Economics with a certificate in East Asian Studies. I also studied abroad in Tianjin, China to learn Mandarin. I was active in leading multiple international student organizations – UW Madison represents more than 120 countries. All these experiences have strengthened my ability to understand people beyond their culture or language, and to be patient and adaptable to change.
What is your career background?
After graduating from college, I started my career as a business consultant at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Tokyo. Later on, I left the job to pursue my dream of working in China. In 2016, while I was pregnant with my first child, I founded an entry-market consulting company Apricus Co., Ltd. My clients included major real estate developers, Michelin-starred restaurants, international franchise brands/restaurants, and more.
Despite my company’s success, I was hospitalized with meningitis during my second pregnancy as I was overworked, and overtired from taking care of my first son who was often sick with asthma. When I found out about my third pregnancy during COVID in 2020, I decided to put a hold on my work and place my family and health first.
As written on the About MP Workshops, that changed in 2022. I started to host workshops to empower other mothers with knowledge, and to create a safe community.
I am here to share my knowledge with you and your family to help you build your dream family home with love, compassion, connection, and trust.
Facts
A little bit more about Mitsue.
Degrees and Certificates:
- JADP Certified Mental Psychology Counselor®
- Harvard University | HarvardX, Certificate in Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies for Implementation
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Certificate in East Asian Area Studies
- Nankai Univeristy, UW Intensive Chinese Language Summer Program
My Parenting and Favorite Activities:
- Multilingual Parenting with Japanese, English and Croatian *I'm also learning Croatian with kids!
- Screen Free Parenting
- Raised three of them with Baby Led Weaning
- Meditation with my Children
- Reading, Learning and Teaching
- Recipe Making, Baking Gluten-Free&Vegan Sweets/Breads
- Exercising: Kundalini Yoga and Rucking
My Favorite Quotes:
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
“It’s not what happens to us that matters most, it’s what we do with our experiences.”
― Dr. Edith Eva Eger
"We may not be responsible for the world that created our minds, but we can take responsibility for the mind with which we create our world."
― Dr. Gabor Maté