Interview with Nimarya

Arichia

Definitely, not a crow.
TNP Nation
Arichia
Discord
Corvidae#1168
Google Doc
Arichia: So, I would like to start from the beginning, how did you first get started in NationStates?

Nimarya: Well, my brother actually found the website and showed it to me a little over two years ago. I made a nation and spent most of the following two years just lurking, answering issues, and spying on the forum. Eventually, my old nation CTE'd, so when I decided to return to NationStates I made a new nation under the name "Nimarya" which just so happened to spawn in TNP. Then, I was inexplicably drawn into the activities of this region and the rest is history.

Arichia: TNP has many activities for many people. What activities did you first get yourself involved in?

Nimarya: Home Affairs and the North Pacific Army were the two big things. I joined Home Affairs not long before Bluie resigned from the position of Minister of Home Affairs, and when Rocketdog stepped up as Minister he choose to give me a chance as Deputy. I think I can point back to that singular decision on his part as the one thing that's most defined my path in TNP, because when I was brought in as a Deputy I was given the chance to learn administration, to establish myself in the region, and was set on the course that would lead to me one day taking over as Minister of Home Affairs.

The NPA has also been one of my absolute favorite things about this region. Rom in particular was amazing and taught me R/D personally, and now I can say I'm an officer in the NPA thanks to his guidance. It's fun, it's engaging, and I love the friends I've made there. Working with the NPA is also a great opportunity to make friends outside of the North Pacific as you compete with other R/D players in NS.

Arichia: From what you've said about your time here, it looks like you've really enjoyed Home Affairs and NPA! I would also like to hear about what you think is the most enjoyable part of being the Minister of Home Affairs.

Nimarya: The most enjoyable aspect of being Minister of Home Affairs, for me at least, is harnessing the ideas and passion of the people who work with me. I like how we're all a team who wants to reach out to new players and help them become part of the region, and I think that passion and sense of community we share is crucial to the life and productivity of Home Affairs. It makes me very happy to see my staff have fun and engage with others, and that's been one of my most driving motivations as I work to continuously improve the Ministry.

Arichia: Before yourself, many people have held the position of the Minister of Home Affairs. As you are in that same position, who do you look up to, and what do you admire about them?

Nimarya: Well, I haven't worked under that many other Ministers in Home Affairs- only Bluie, very briefly, and Rocketdog. I have, however, also become friends with BMWSurfer who was a MoHA long before I joined TNP. I would say I respect each of them for different things. I admire BMW greatly for the advice he has given me throughout this term, as well as his genius creation of Home Affair's latest roster. I respect Bluie for being a solid and dependable worker and advisor who has stepped up to the plate multiple times this last term. I also admire the work he did with polls during his last term, an idea which, if I'm ever again able to work as MoHA, I intend to blatantly copy. Lastly, I respect Rocketdog for his example in delegating certain work to his deputies during his term as Minister, instead of trying to do everything himself. In that way I've chosen to follow in his footsteps by delegating work and trusting my deputies to help shoulder the work of Home Affairs, a tactic which I believe has led to better results all around.

Arichia: I see that you value hard work and determination. What are some difficult challenges that you have gone through during your time working in Home Affairs, or TNP government in general?

Nimarya: Two main challenges come to mind, I think. The first would be a more general challenge that just comes with gaining a leadership position. It can be hard establishing goals, schedules, and then of course figuring out step by step what exactly needs to happen and then how to make it happen. I think that's just gotten easier with experience as I've worked throughout the term. I've had to postpone different projects and I've had to accept that some things I would like to do just aren't feasible or important enough for the moment, which can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes. But I would like to say I'm learning, and getting better at management in general, and I am happy with the things we've been able to accomplish this term.

The other challenge would be handling situations with staff that aren't really doing what they're supposed to. This term we've had situations where people were claiming things out of order, or fighting over rows, and dealing with that hasn't been easy, but I think the key to solving or at least mitigating those problems has been just to talk to people, and work out what needs to change.

Arichia: Those are hard problems, but, of course, problems arise all the time, and we accomplish things too. Under your leadership, what do you believe is Home Affairs' greatest accomplishment?

Nimarya: That's a very tough question to answer. We have the new Log and Data Viewer system, which I believe to be revolutionary, and we've also recently introduced a cards reward program that I think will also go very far and might potentially serve as an inspiration for other cards programs. However, at the end of the day I think the most important thing Home Affairs has gained is a solid system of operations. We now have methods and routine for each of the main processes of Home Affairs, from distributing Home Office work in a rotational schedule, to guides for accepting and training new staff, to templates and procedures for mentoring, and more. At the beginning of my term, I said I wanted to do many small things to make Home Affairs easier to run and easier to work in. I think I can say I've succeeded at that.

Arichia: To my knowledge, much of the work you put into is for Home Affairs and the NPA. Are you part of other ministries, The Regional Assembly, or in any other places?

Nimarya: Well, as a citizen and Minister I'm definitely part of the Regional Assembly! I haven't been involved in drafting legislation, but that could change one day. Truth be told most of my focus and efforts have been on the NPA and HA, especially the past few months. However, I am part of Culture as well and have assisted with graphic design this term, and I'm also technically part of the Cards Guild, although that's mostly because Praetor hasn't kicked me out yet, and I want to become more involved with that in the future.

Arichia: And to finish, once your time as Minister is over, what do you plan to do, and would you consider doing anything more?

Nimarya: Well, when I'm done as Minister of Home Affairs, I'm probably going to turn my attention to trying out different areas of the game and region that I haven't explored much yet, namely Foreign Affairs and possibly World Assembly Affairs. I'll also consider running for office one of these days. That's not to say I intend to abandon Home Affairs or the NPA- on the contrary, I doubt I could ever leave them, but I probably will step back from leadership for at least a term in the future, just to recharge and figure out what it is I want to be doing.

Arichia: Those are all the questions I have. I really appreciate your time and answers! Thanks for the opportunity to interview you!
 
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