Meet Ing. Mrs. Sylvia Asare, the first Ghanaian female engineer trained at 'UST' at the time. She gained admission in 1976, and joined three other ladies then; two from Tanzania and one from Uganda. She was the only lady in a class of over 90 students.Today I had the beautiful opportunity of interacting closely with Aunty Sylvia at the 6th WINE Forum. WINE - Women In Engineering - is a network of female engineers within the Ghana Institution of Engineers, and this week has been 'Engineering Week'. I especially love the WINE meetings during such celebrations because we get to have sister-sister chats with senior female engineers. Today our big sisters shared the stories of their lives - how they cope in a male-dominated work place, how they handle family and work, what keeps them going, their challenges and victories.
One key point i gathered from our interactions today is that most of these lady engineers once got to a point in their lives where they needed to make a clear decision, and they always make reference to that 'one person' or 'one event' that emboldened them to go after their passion. Some stood on the confidence their family placed in them, some only needed to hear 'you can do it' from a teacher, others attended a 'career fair' or 'science fair' that exposed them to many areas of studies, but for all of them, the decision was made clear in ONE MOMENT.
We have many 'one-moment-opportunities' in the lives of the people God has placed around us. Do we bring out the shine in others? Are we able to spot the innate talents of people and speak life to them? Do our words inspire others and put the confusion in their minds to rest? When we meet people who are in a season of 'I-don't-know-what's-next', how do we make them feel? Influence. Impact. Life-changing decisions. They may only take ONE MOMENT. Make every moment count. Speak life.
One key point i gathered from our interactions today is that most of these lady engineers once got to a point in their lives where they needed to make a clear decision, and they always make reference to that 'one person' or 'one event' that emboldened them to go after their passion. Some stood on the confidence their family placed in them, some only needed to hear 'you can do it' from a teacher, others attended a 'career fair' or 'science fair' that exposed them to many areas of studies, but for all of them, the decision was made clear in ONE MOMENT.
We have many 'one-moment-opportunities' in the lives of the people God has placed around us. Do we bring out the shine in others? Are we able to spot the innate talents of people and speak life to them? Do our words inspire others and put the confusion in their minds to rest? When we meet people who are in a season of 'I-don't-know-what's-next', how do we make them feel? Influence. Impact. Life-changing decisions. They may only take ONE MOMENT. Make every moment count. Speak life.
