Nazia Shah

I attribute my success to having faith and integrity, and never giving up on my dreams and passion. When I was in school, I was in the yellow Beale House, and our motto was to never give in - not giving up your dreams, your passion, or your goals. That really stands out to me. Whatever situation you face, you still have to have faith that things will work out perfectly well if you have the quality of not giving in. I've also been incredibly fortunate to have an amazing network of people wherever I go. I couldn't have done anything without my network - it's always my team with whom I'm working or affiliated, giving me promotions and opportunities. I had a sponsor and mentor who was my team leader in Afghanistan. He was kind enough to sense my passion for lifelong learning and always told me that America needs people like me, so he sponsored me to come here. He made me realize that I can make it because I'm a deep believer of giving to the community, and that's where every step I take, I meet some incredible people. What I take, I also give back. There have been numerous people at each stage of my life who have truly impacted me, and I'm ever grateful for how they have mentored, encouraged, supported, and inspired me.

The best career advice I've received came from my sponsor and mentor who was my team leader in Afghanistan. He was kind enough to sense my passion for lifelong learning and where I would be, and he would always tell me, 'You know, America needs people like you.' He made me realize that I can make it because I'm a deep believer of giving to the community. He taught me that every step I take, I meet incredible people, and what I take, I also give back. Beyond that, the most important guidance has come from my parents, especially my mother, who envisioned us taking the best education. She provided me with an incredible education through boarding school in the British education system, which was one of the most influential impacts on my life and career. That's what I passed on to my children when I was in Afghanistan - I admitted them to one of the best, the only American school. I was able to pass that gift of education to them. There have also been many people at each stage of my life, including when I was newly married - the rector of the university I was working at was very passionate to know about my journey and gave me good opportunities to work so that I was able to maintain my education and my professional journey.

I think there are two things when we look at life. One is mostly looking at our academic achievements, but then there's also the social impact. What is it that you achieve, and you are able to give back to the community? That's something that we have to teach our young ones, and then they need to be potential explorers and have an impact on the new generation. I call it a corporate social responsibility - not only earning and being outstanding for the sake of earning money, but it's also the impact you can make in a philanthropic way. That's why community service is so important. Having empathy from a very early age is what our world needs now. That's a big thing - you need to have empathy and respect for the seniors, because it's a way of life. What your parents have given you, how are you going to contribute or give back to them? That's your social responsibility. Wherever you are, you can have a big impact by just being there and being empathetic.

The biggest challenge in my field is navigating career transitions as an international professional in the U.S., while the greatest opportunity lies in leveraging networks, webinars, podcasts, and mentoring to expand impact and acquire new technical skills such as GIS, manufacturing, and project innovation.

The values most important to me are integrity and faith. I live by the motto of never giving up on your dreams and passion, which really stands out to me. When I was in school, I was in the yellow Beale House, and our motto was to never give in - not giving up your dreams, your passion, or your goals. Whatever situation you face, you still have to have faith that things will work out perfectly well if you have the quality of not giving in. Personally, I've always been a very devoted mom, taking care of my children while taking care of myself. I worked in the same school where my kids were graduating from because I wanted to be there for them. After I left the World Bank project from Afghanistan in 2019, I joined their high school as a career counselor, and based on that journey, I was able to work on my son's portfolio and my daughter's profile. My youngest one was able to get an AWC, a distinguished scholarship in Africa, and graduated as an honors student. Those are the things that I've always cherished - making sure that I don't stop my journey of learning forever while building my family and giving back to society. I'm very committed to community services and caring for the elderly. Taking care of children and seniors is my passion. I really love walking in nature - that's where I get my peace of mind. I'm a people person, so I like attending events and going to movies. I'm always the one to watch the movie as soon as it's out in the theaters.