Biography

Short version.:

Aloha, my name is Kristine. I invite you to take a journey into my world, so that you can know me, even before we meet.

I am an outgoing, strong-willed person- very direct and honest. You never have to guess with me, just ask and be ready to recive the truth. If you dont want to know, do not ask.

I like to spend time with people from different countries and cultures and believe variety is the spice of life.

Naturally, therefore, I enjoy working on different projects and love change; that’s why I’m in real estate busines: no two cases are the same. I accept life challenges and deal with them as they come. I’m never afraid to dive into something really challenging. Fear keeps a person from going outside of his comfort zone. Noone can grow and excel by staying comfortable. I’m a determined and fast learner and am committed to learning whatever I need in order to do my very best. With my natural drive toward success, I am eager to help deliver on your real estate gols.

I am very active and love sports. Tennis is my game. It has changed me, shaped me and helped me to integrate the skills of athleticism, analysis, strategy- and for having an eye when to go for it and when to let go. I love playing tennis several times a week and participate in league competitions. I love all kinds of sports activities and enjoy skiing, motorbiking, and wake boarding. For relaxation I routinely walk the beach, go for a run, read a lot, and spend time with my family and friends.

Briefly I would describe myself as a self-driven person with great work ability but with room for freedom. If you want to know where all this is coming from I invite you to read the longer version of my biography.

Please do not hesitate to call me, I will be happy to talk story with you. Can’t wait to hear from you…

Invitation accepted, longer version:

Kristine B Schneider: world explorer, challenge accepter…

Have you ever dreamed about moving halfway round the world to an entirely new environment, and starting a new life? Well, I was not, but …

My name is Kristine and I was born in Latvia, which was part of the USSR at that point. Latvia gained its independence in 1991, and is now part of the European Union (EU). I grew up fluent in both Latvian and Russian, and now English is my third language. I am comfortable working with clientele in all these languages.

After graduating from a Latvian high school, I got into a state university, where I was funded to get an engineering degree in food science. At the end of my four year bachelor program, I was chosen to study abroad in another EU university. I chose to go to the University College of Cork, in Ireland, since they had one of the best food science labratories at that time. There I wrote my bachelor thesis on a specific food additive and how it affects milk stability.

After that I had an offer to continue my education in Irealand, but I chose to stay in Latvia and continue my master’s program in a completely different field: social science. At that time I had begun to work for the government, and social studies were very hepful for public administration.

I worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Support Service. They administer EU and state support for rural areas, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

My next step took me to the Ministry of Economics, Consumer Right Protection Center, where I started out in a department which was regulating advertising and e-commerce. But after a while I advanced to head the technical surveillance division, where our main goal was to oversee the market in the fields of technical machinery, dangerous equipment, recreational craft, pressure equipment, gas appliances, radio and telephone terminal equipment, and others.

In addition to my governmental duties I was also the board chairwoman of a privately owned company, where my duties included executive, personnel managment and marketing activities.

I have always been active and participated in sports activities. As I was growing up my main sport was flatwater kayaking, and I participated in national competitions and loved it. In fact, I loved it so much that I volunteered as a sports info assistant for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games in Greece. I got a chance to work both in the competition venue and at the Olympic village.

As much as I loved to travel I never wanted to move away from my country. I had always said I would never move away from home. But then life brought me a situation where someone needed my help and the location was half way around the world in Maui; A place I had never been and knew nothing about. I came to Maui strictly to deal with the case, and never thought that a year later I would call it home. During this trip to Maui I met my husband. Before I knew it, I moved to Maui. I have been on Maui since 2009.

While I’m not a lifelong expert in Hawaii, I’ve grown to love Maui and call it Home. I absolutely respect its culture and would not want to do anything that would jeopardize what makes Hawaii so wel-known and loved. I am very aware of cultural differences and can personally relate to the changes people undergo moving to Hawaii.

After moving to Hawaii I took several years off from my professional career, I called it ”early retirement.” I devoted my time to establish my family. We have three beautiful, healthy and smart children. I know all about the challenges of being a stay at home mom, but I knew that it was not to be forever. My personality type would lead me back into the business world.

From the university on, I have never stopped learning and attending classes to educate myself in professional fields, as well as for my own interests, even when my proffesional career was on hold. I have taken courses from universities all around the world, such as Australia, Japan and USA.

In order be prepared to do my best on the job, I also studied contracts through a course at Harvard Law School. Real estate has both a legal side and a human side to it, and both are vitally important. I have also studied Seller’s Representation and the Real Estate Negotiation Expert Certification. I am also Coldwell Banker Smart Home certified. Currently I am taking the Resort and Second Home Property Specialist Certification course. It’s still underway, but I am learning a lot. Overall I would say there is no week when I am not studying something related to Real Estate. To me, KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY.

When I finally decided to take the next step and enter the world of real estate, I felt confident that it was the right move for me. I know my past experinces will help me to understand culural differences and see it as so much more than being a salesperson—but rather helping to serve someone in one of their biggest decisions—buying or selling their home, or fulfilling goals and dreams. With such a big decision, you need someone you can trust and who can be honest and ready to work for you. Together with the outstanding team of professionals that backs me up at Coldwell Banker Island Properties, I humbly ask for your confidence and the opportunity to help you in pursuing your real estate goals. I’m confident that with my skills and experiences and the #1 leading real estate company on Maui since 2000, that we can succeed and excel together!