In the spirit of our
‘Think Like A Girl’ Theme, we present to you Senamiso Mathobela-Nleya. Senamiso
is one girl who wears an ‘S’ on her chest all day, every day. She is the very first
female Power Systems Control Engineer
at the National Power Grid in the United Kingdom!! What I found most astounding
about this humble and graceful individual is that she is also a mother to two
gorgeous and energetic toddlers and; a wife AND YET she is still slaying it in
the world of engineering. Who said you can’t have it all?
Not too long ago,
Senamiso, or Mantsha as she is affectionately called by her family, was just
another teenage girl in high school who chose Math, Physics and Chemistry as an
A-Level combination at a high school which she attended in England. After high
school, Senamiso chose to come back and pursue her engineering degree at the
University of Zimbabwe where she was one of the only three girls to register
for the program that academic year. Being determined and inattentive to her
critics and naysayers helped to travail through college until she graduated as
a qualified engineer. Shortly after that, she worked for a telecommunications
company here in Harare-Zimbabwe, but she points out that she always knew that
she wanted to be in the power systems engineering field. After about a year she applied for a job at
our very own ZESA where she worked before she moved to England, and she has
been the power systems business since then!
It’s been quite a
journey to the dream job, and we wanted to know a little more about that
experience. A few weeks ago I was blessed with the opportunity to sit down with
this amazing and inspirational young mover and shaker in the world of
engineering and the following is the conversation that ensued….
First things first, what
has been the highlight of your career as a Power Systems Engineer so far?
Well, obviously, it has to be becoming the
first female Power Systems Controller/Engineer at the National Grid (England)!
That tops it for me so far, hopefully there will be more highlights in the
future! Oh, and I have been nominated for a Zimbabwe Achiever’s Award! So
please do vote for me!
Being recognized and
nominated to receive a Zimbabwe Achiever’s award is kind of a big deal! How are
you feeling about that?
When I got the news I couldn’t help but
feel weird about it! It was completely unexpected, when I set out to be an
engineer I never really expected to get nominated for awards, neither did I
anticipate the level of success which I have been blessed with today. I was just
going about my life, just doing my normal everyday job.
Did you see this kind
of success coming though?
Well, all I knew when I was applying for my
job was that if I got it that would mean that I was going to be the first woman
in England to hold that title. But I did not expect all the hype that would
accompany my appointment into this position [Chuckles]
Wow, being the very
first woman to be a Power Systems Controller at the British National Grid! Was
the mere idea of going into that male dominated territory intimidating?
It was challenging, I will be honest, but I
have always been up for a challenge. I remember when I took up engineering in
university everybody told me how hard it is, some people told me that I would
never make it, others said that very few people made it in this field, and I
said to myself “you know what? I like a challenge! I am up for one, so I’m
going to go for it!” And that has always been my attitude. Sometimes you win,
sometimes you don’t, but isn’t that just how life works? But it’s always worth
a try…. I mean it’s always great when things actually do work out [Laughs]
How important was
education to you when you were a teenager?
It was always very important! It was the
thing that I was good at, so yea, you know, it was the thing I was best at
[Chuckles] I wasn’t really good at anything else like sports for instance
[Chuckles] sports were definitely not my thing! So yea, education was always
very important to me. I realized that it was the one thing that opened the door
to just about anything.
So what motivated you
through school? What kept you going?
What kept me going? Hmm… I guess I could
say I have always been a determined person, for some reason, I always knew from
the start what I wanted to do and I would always try to get what I wanted. So I
suppose I could say that I was always very self-motivated. My friend’s dad was
my hero. He used to tell us all these interesting things about the job he did
and I would always tell myself that I wanted his job as well.
Was your friend’s dad,
your childhood hero, also an engineer?
Yea…. So I would ask him loads of questions
about the right subjects to take up and I got a lot of career related advice
from him. It’s very important to get career guidance early, if you know what
you want to do find out the right combination of subjects which can get you
there.
How would you
encourage younger girls who may be feeling overwhelmed in their different
domains for instance at school, in university/college or at work, what would
you say to uplift girls who are really feeling the stress of the grind and
working towards achieving their goals?
It’s always going to be hard! One way, or
the other; it’s not easy. If you are going to
be hard! So you just have to keep your
focus and tell yourself that whatever challenges you are faced with only exist
to propel you forward. So just go for it! Never convince yourself to give up
just because you think it’s too hard! Giving up is the worst thing you can ever
do to yourself! Just keep trying, if you fail, you just get up and try again!
There’s no harm in that….
Over a decade ago,
this very same woman shared this quote with me; ‘whether you think that you can
or that you can’t, either way, you are right’. Today she is living proof of the
truth of that statement. As clichéd as this may sound, you actually can be
absolutely anything you want to be if you keep your focus! Here’s another quote
which was written by a famous wise king centuries ago; ‘Do you see a girl (I
tweaked that part) who is diligent in her work? She will not stand before
unknown people, she will stand before people in high places, Kings and Queens.’
If you have gotten off track, maybe this is the season to recommit to
diligence! I hope you are as inspired by our Woman Crush Every day-of-the-week
power-house, Senamiso, as we are!
Love Always
P.S If you want to
show Senamiso a little love and support, please go right ahead and vote for her
on the link provided below
http://www.zimachievers.com/uk/nominees/
- Friday, April 22, 2016
- 1 Comments
