In ten words I am determined, focused, dedicated, stubborn, loyal, daring, reliable, kind, thoughtful and spiritual.
I am reading Converting Ideas into Reality by Pastor Choolwe Choolwe and someone I want to meet the most, some day is Robert Kiyosaki. His teachings on financial education sparked my interest in business and entrepreneurship.
There are several people who have made a difference in my career; both from family and from the organizations where I have worked. My late husband who was a course mate at the University of Zambia was influential in encouraging me to study hard. This resulted in my graduating with Merit in Library and Information Studies and Public Administration.
My mother and my sisters (I wouldn’t be where I am without their prayers and encouragement ) and my very supportive bosses at Zambia Airports Corporation where I was mentored well and still continue to receive good advice as I navigate my career path.
My overall education background has had a tremendous impact on my current work life. At St Johns Convent School we were constantly pushed to get good grades and we had former students coming back to give motivation talks about the importance of passing so that one could go to university.
At university I obtained a double major degree in Library and Information Studies and Public Administration. I chose to study LIS because it gave me an opportunity to choose a School of Humanities – Social Science course and hence not restrict my career options. I decided to pick on Public Administration because it offered programs in Human Resource Management which I had developed an interest in.
I pursued a career in Human Resources management because I believed it was more marketable and rewarding. It took me close to 10 months after graduation to get employed but, I would not have secured my first full time job without the degree from university. It has greatly contributed to my current work life.
I strongly believe that without my degree I would not have been able to hold the posts that I have such as Human Resources Officer, Training Coordinator and Administration Officer. The courses I took under Public Administration provided me with the knowledge and skills that I have used throughout my career.
I have not used the Library and Information Studies part of my degree largely because of the influence I got whilst I was on internship. My supervisor at one organization was really frustrated with the length of time it would take him to get a promotion (career advancement) and the salary challenges. I thought that I might end up frustrated in the long run so I ended up concentrating more on the PA side of my degree.
HR work is largely not project related, however, for the last three years I was working as a Training Coordinator and we worked on one or two projects related to training farmers and SMEs. My role was largely as a support staff or team member. I was particularly responsible for mobilizing the farmer groups who were trained. In one project I was privileged to conduct the training.
I really enjoyed being able to train others
Primary and secondary schools should do more to harness young people’s talents because great success lies in doing those things that you are naturally good at. There should be more pointers for young people on which careers best suit their talents.
Despite working hard and getting good results, I really had no idea which program to choose after completing grade 12. I really wish that our schools at that time offered career classes because we went through school without knowing what we wanted to be when we grew up.
