Sante Nyambo: Education is the most important gift you can give yourself
[bctt tweet=”My father always told me, education is the most important gift you can give yourself… just go for it! – Sante Nyambo” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] “I remember standing still in a dark room for a long period of time with one hand on my face and the other on my phone… On that day, the news beaming from my phone lit up my life forever.” This is how Sante Nyambo recalls the moment she received the acceptance letter from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, where she later obtained her B.Sc in Civil Engineering. At only 18 and filled with courage and a desire to positively impact her nation, she flew across the world to pursue knowledge that would change her life forever. This Tanzanian probably never dreamed that her story would be told in film. She’s now one of the stars of “One Day I Too Go Fly”, a documentary film about 4 African youths’ journeys to become engineers at MIT. It is directed by Arthur Musah, a Ghanaian engineer/filmmaker who seeks to create powerful new narratives about Africa and Africans in cinema. You can view a glimpse of the footage of the film on Kickstarter, where Arthur and the team are rallying up support to fund post-production editing of all the footage: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arthurmusah/one-day-i-too-go-fly-documentary-post-production Take us back to that moment when you got the acceptance letter from MIT, what went through your mind in that moment? I was still up at 3am on Pi day (March 14th 2011). I stayed up because I could not fall asleep. The letter came in around 3:30 am via an email portal notification. As soon as I read the beginning of the letter, I immediately thought I was on the waiting list. I had the biggest smile on my face. I felt happy to have been considered. I sighed with relief. As I kept on reading on, I began to cry. I remember standing still in a dark room for a long period of time with one hand on my face and the other on my phone. I was overwhelmed and overjoyed with happiness as my smile turned into a pool of tears. When I read the end of the letter saying “Now go party and have fun! See you on campus…”, it was a day that I will never forget. On that day, the news beaming from my phone lit up my life forever. Before you left for MIT, what ideas did you have about the world and about yourself (as a young African woman) and how have they been refined since your studies at MIT and your exposure to a different way of life in America? I was 18. I did not know a lot about myself at the time as I do now. I still feel have not changed much. I am still all about having fun with life and remaining strong and persistent to follow my dreams. As I got to America, I thought I knew what I wanted out of myself and life. My way of thinking gradually changed slightly during the school year and internships. I vividly remember the look on my father’s face as I made my way to the departure gates in 2011. We both felt the same way. I was nervous. My father was skeptical about letting me leave. I literally had to convince my family. It was not easy because I could not predict or control the future. The fear of the unknown. I never thought a lot about myself. I cared more about my family, cousins and grandparents. I grew up with a very close knit family with my mother as my best-friend. I knew that I would be leaving a void. I also strongly felt that I would eventually strengthen the bonds when I returned home. I felt that I was given a great opportunity to be challenged and one of tremendous growth. Being introduced to a different way of life in America, have you found it hard to decide how much of Africa to hold on to and how much of America to absorb? What are you holding on to that is African and what American ideals are you absorbing, without losing your African heritage? Coping was a combination of a sine and a cosine curve. It had ups and downs. Immersing yourself in a new environment really has a way of molding you. It reinforces your foundations. After graduation, time to time, I watch the first “One Day I Too Go Fly” Kickstarter video that was launched in 2012. It looked back into the past and it captured moments in my dorm room where it showed how I decorated my room with Arusha region decorations (Maasais dancing). I do hold on to my memories of home and my heritage as a chagga woman. I think the ability to cope presents a challenge, however it is a function of resiliency. We can to some extent control that. What new narrative about Africa and Africans is the film, ‘One Day I Too Go Fly’, aiming to share with the world? 7 years ago in Dar es Salaam, I was sitting on a curb on a very warm sunny day after a long basketball game. I was waiting to catch a daladala when a young lady walked up to me looking for directions. In our conversation, she told me she attended MIT and how much she enjoyed it. She went on to mention that it is the best university in the world and I should consider this opportunity to study abroad. I had never heard of such a college or considered being an engineer at the time. I enjoyed and loved STEM and despite my strengths lying in engineering, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. I went home that night, I reached out to her for help with the applications. For me, the film is a way to create exposure to the world about opportunities in general. The
9 reasons you should (seriously) consider an internship
I started giving proper thought to my career during my second year at university. The buzz towards the end of that period was crazy, and getting an internship was all everyone seemed to talk about. The energy was amazing; everybody wanted to get into big firms, especially the investment banks. I would be having lunch, walking along the corridors, working in the computer labs and it was the same – Goldman Sachs this, JP Morgan that, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas…my head almost exploded at a point because that’s all I would hear about. I wasn’t particularly bothered about getting an internship because I had gained a considerable amount of part-time work experience up until that time, and I had a very well paying summer job coming up at Edexcel (now Pearson UK). I had really enjoyed doing the job the previous summer because of the large number of Nigerian students working there. It was serious fun and there must have been at least 100 of us young Nigerians working there at some point. Anyway, a great friend and classmate of mine, Chitra, asked me if I had applied to any of the investment banks. I said, “Nope, Edexcel pays very well and I enjoy the work.” She must have thought I was crazy, because she gave me an, ‘Are you ok? Can’t you see what your mates are doing?’ look. She managed to convince me to put in at least ONE application. I procrastinated for a few days before deciding to check the websites. Lo and behold, I was too late – I had missed all the application deadlines (or so I thought). I didn’t even feel bad, thinking ‘it wasn’t meant to be’. It must have been a few days later when she asked, “Did you check the Credit Suisse website?” I was like “Errr”…Anyway she told me it was still open and that the deadline was that day. I was like “Today? How am I supposed to get it done in a few hours?” Long story short, I dropped everything else, put in my application and forgot about it. I was convinced they wouldn’t call me because of how I rushed to get it done. Imagine my surprise when I got called for a telephone interview – I couldn’t believe it. I passed the phone interview, and was invited to attend a 9-hour assessment centre (story for another day). I somehow managed to make it through that successfully, and the rest, as they say, is history. It was an A M A Z I N G experience. I got to meet and learn from so many brilliant people and was especially fortunate to have a great boss who helped me gain clarity with regards to a decision I had been struggling with for a while, like whether or not to do a master’s degree – I ended up not doing it). Best of all, though, was the lunch. They had ALL sorts in there, Italian, Indian, Chinese – you name it. Even the dessert was nice. I always looked forward to lunch because of the many different options. Anyway, let me get down to the real reason I wrote this post. What competitive advantage did my 3 months at Credit Suisse give me? Why should YOU intern? Internships are one of the best ways to get your foot in the door in terms of getting a full time role. Work hard while you’re there, and there’s a good chance you’ll be asked back. I was made a full time offer for a graduate position immediately after my internship and this meant I didn’t have to worry about applying for jobs in my final year. Upgrade your CV Even if you’re not made an offer where you interned, the experience will seriously boost your CV and increase your chances of getting a job elsewhere. Test drive a career path you’re interested in I was bent on getting into the telecoms industry after graduation because I enjoyed all the telecoms modules I took as an undergrad. I’m glad I got a chance to intern because my experience at Credit Suisse was a key turning point in terms of helping me discover what I really enjoy doing. (I eventually did my NYSC at a telecoms company and I absolutely hated it). Develop key transferable skills An internship is a great opportunity to hone your existing skills and develop new ones, which employers are always looking out for when recruiting. Learn the importance of work ethic The workplace is very different from the school environment and the best way to learn work etiquette is in a real life work environment. Build your network You get to meet new people and build relationships you can leverage. ALL the jobs I’ve had since NYSC (and I mean ALL 5 jobs since 2009) have been through the network I’ve built over time. Get professional training I was ‘trained professionally’ for the first time during my internship. It was the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) training and must have been worth around $150 at the time. Not only did I get it free, I learnt some concepts that I still use today. Earn a salary While some internships are unpaid, mine was very well paid and I remember thinking ‘WOW’. It gave me an idea of what I could possibly earn as a full time graduate trainee. Besides, who (especially as a student) doesn’t like some extra cash? 😀 Boost your confidence The experience seriously boosted my confidence because I had to hit the ground running in terms of the tasks I was assigned. I also had to learn and apply new concepts very quickly in a ‘real-life’ setting. This made me feel like I could achieve anything I set my mind to. So, what’s holding you back from an internship? I hear many young job seekers complaining about the lack of opportunities in terms of jobs