Her Story
About Chika
I am currently pursuing my PhD in chemistry at Purdue University, where I serve as both a graduate research assistant and a graduate teaching assistant during the fall session. I have been working in my field for about 5 years, and I consider my research and lab work to be my most notable professional achievement. My typical day involves spending about 8 hours in the lab conducting research. Before coming to the United States, I worked in Nigeria as both a research assistant and a lecturer, where I had the opportunity to teach students up to their junior year and collaborate with professors to review papers and provide input. Throughout my journey, I have taken numerous certification courses online and have participated in professional development courses at Purdue. I have learned so much from sitting under the mentorship of various professors and have had the privilege of teaching many students. I am a member of the American Chemical Society. Beyond my academic work, I am deeply passionate about creativity and giving back to my community. I founded Ivory Kittings, an NGO where I teach young women how to make hats, headwear, fascinators, and various fashion accessories. All of my classes are completely free as a way of giving back to society. I dedicate about 2 hours each evening after my lab work to respond to messages on WhatsApp, where the trainings are currently held. Over the years, I have also organized physical conferences and trainings for young women in Nigeria. Additionally, I am one of the founding members of Ladies of Virtue, another NGO where we visit different high schools to educate teenagers about being responsible citizens, living with discipline, and successfully transitioning into adulthood. Last year, I won a grant from Nigeria through a business pitch competition called Apple Premier in Lagos, which I learned about through networking. Just last month, I was honored with the Niger Ambassador Award by the Nigerian Students Association at Purdue, which recognizes Nigerian students who fully reflect Nigerian culture through their character and representation wherever they are.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Chika
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to learning how to balance things, which was something I initially struggled with. I have learned the importance of prioritizing rest, because sometimes it gets overwhelming having to juggle so many activities. There are times when I just shut down and give myself a day to rest and breathe from all the stress, and it's really, really important. I would also say that networking with people has given me so much over the years. For example, last year I won a grant from my country, Nigeria, through a business pitch competition called Apple Premier that took place in Lagos, and I know it was through networking that I was able to get the information about that opportunity. It's important to have friends who are able to assist you and to take time off to rest when you feel overwhelmed. I have also learned that delegation helps, like delegating duties to members of the team. It helps to take some load off and makes things go smoothly.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My mentors always emphasize the importance of rest. Just yesterday, I ran into one of them and she was emphasizing the need for me to sleep early. I told her that I had slept for 3 hours in the afternoon and woke up still feeling weak, so she told me to eat and sleep back again. They always emphasize the need to rest and try to guide my journey by showing me things that I don't know. Sometimes they give me books to read to teach me about things that I'm probably not aware of. They also send me links to opportunities to apply for, and I try my best to look at all the links they send me and find out about the whole process.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that it is important to know how to balance things, because it was one of the things I struggled with initially when trying to find a way to strike a balance. I would also talk about the importance of prioritizing rest, because sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming having to juggle a lot of activities. There are times when I just shut down and give myself a day to rest and just breathe from all the stress, and it's really, really important. I would also say that it's important to network with people, because networking has given me so much over the years. Last year I won a grant from my country, Nigeria, through a business pitch competition, and I know it was by networking that I was able to get the information and all that. It's important to have friends who are able to assist and to take time off to rest when you feel overwhelmed. I have also learned that delegation helps, like delegating duties to members of the team. It helps to take some load off and to make things go smoothly.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say the major challenge is just that sometimes I feel like 24 hours is not enough in the day. There's so much to do, and sometimes I feel like there's so much and so little time. But I have also learned that delegation helps, like delegating duties to members of the team. It helps to take some load off and to make things go smoothly.
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