“Edna, you’re relocating to Ireland!’’
That’s all I could think about as I read the acceptance email from Citibank Europe Plc. I walked around the office, trying to process the information. Three months later, I am still processing this information.
2017 Graduates, congratulations for making it this far! It is not a small feat. It is the first step to establishing yourself in whichever field you set out to. I am sharing my story to encourage you and to let you know that there is a whole world of possibilities that you can tap into. You will all take different paths after this. Some of you may have job offers already, some of you will get offers after graduation and some of you will go out into the realm of entrepreneurship to start the next big thing.
My journey began at Strathmore University. I graduated on 27th June, 2014 with a degree in Actuarial Science. Soon after, I joined ISBI (Institute for Small Business Initiatives) where I worked with Strathmore University lecturers to mentor entrepreneurs on debt acquisition, business management and sustainable growth for their businesses.
In 2015, I applied for the highly competitive Management Associate (MA) position at Citibank Kenya and was accepted. This is an eighteen month management development program, through which I have worked in various departments at Citi. Towards the end of the program I applied for a risk position at Citibank Europe plc and was accepted.
I started out where you are and I believe that you too can achieve your goals, if you put in the effort and the commitment required, be it in employment or entrepreneurship. One of the most valuable lessons I have learnt in my journey so far, which I believe is instrumental to career progression is – never shy away from challenges out of fear of failure. Raise your hand up; accept the challenge. You have it in you to succeed!
Encouragement by Alumna Edna Mburu; class of 2014
