Rachel Nganga

I attribute my success to my ability to communicate effectively with people. I'm passionate about what I do, and I genuinely love to help and educate others. These qualities have been fundamental to my achievements both in my professional role at Fidelity Investment and in my personal mission to support mothers in my community who are navigating autism with their children.

When I joined Fidelity Investment and went through training, my manager asked me where I see myself in 5 years. Based on my response, she told me that there are so many opportunities for growth at the company. She said she sees me as a leader one day, potentially becoming a manager and having my own group to lead. She encouraged me by saying that if I keep doing things the way I'm doing them right now, I will advance very quickly. That advice has stayed with me and motivates me to continue excelling in my role.

The biggest challenge in my professional work is making someone believe what you say when you're educating them over the phone. When people already have wrong information and you're trying to provide them with correct information, it's very hard to get them to admit that what you're saying is the way it's supposed to be. That's a real challenge for me in my HSA specialist role. Beyond my job, I face another challenge in my personal mission of helping women in my community. I come from Africa, specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in my culture, there's often this idea that as a woman, your role is just to stay home, give birth, cook, and clean. I came to America as a mother with two kids already, and my goal was to go back to school and get a degree. I wanted to be somebody, to have ambition, to lead, to impact, and to be someone people can call for help. I learned English as a second language since French is my first language, went to school while married and raising five kids, and earned my bachelor's degree with all five kids. Now I tell other women that if I did it, they can do it too. I try to boost them and tell them not to just be someone counting on somebody else's paycheck, but to do something for themselves and make their own money. The hardest thing is changing that mindset when women are stuck in the idea that their role is just being a mother and staying home. When you try to tell them they can be one in five - a mother, a married woman, a worker, a leader, a homeowner or company owner - they often say it's too late, they already have kids, or their husband won't allow it. That's a challenge for me because I'm trying to boost them to become leaders and be independent one day.

Transparency is the most important value to me in both my work and personal life.