Naomi Tchoungang

I would say I was raised in Cameroon, which is in West Africa, and I came here at the age of [AGE] for high school and then eventually for college. But I would say the biggest influence on my success was my dad and the way he raised me and my sisters. My parents had 6 daughters, and from a very young age, my dad emphasized education very much. I always grew up with that mindset of achieving, going above and beyond, and not settling for mediocre. So I would definitely give it to my dad for instilling those values in me.

My boyfriend told me before that you have to always have the mindset of learning. It doesn't matter where you are at, whatever career you find yourself in, do not get comfortable in just the steady state. It has to always be a growth mindset, always learning something new, don't settle for just knowing the basics, continue to learn wherever you find yourself. I think that mindset is really good and applicable to whatever field you're in. If you do that, success would find you. And also just being disciplined. I would say those two things, the growth mindset and discipline, are the best career advice I've received.

I think when I was going through my four years of being in college, especially starting junior year, I took on a bit more than I could handle, and I could feel the burnout from it. So I would say being very careful to know your priorities, know your purpose, know what you want, and not just say yes to every opportunity that presents itself. It's important to properly assess what is necessary, what is going to build you at a specific moment, and not just say yes because you want to build your resume to everything. I think intentionality is a big thing. Definitely don't be like me and say yes, yes, yes to every project, every event, every conference, and then you find yourself very burnt out. We tend to do that as engineering students because we just want to do, do, do because we don't want to be left behind. But taking the time to slow down and properly assess, I would say, is very important.

In my personal and professional life, my faith is very central to everything I do. I'm a Christian, and I believe in Jesus, and I believe in showing Jesus' love. Every single place I find myself, serving is a big thing. Being a leader, not because I just want to have all the power and authority, but because I want to serve to the best of my ability, and I want to have the skills to be able to serve to the best of my ability. So I would say that servant leadership value is very important to me, both personally and professionally.