Lucy Quist; The Journey of a Focused Woman
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Lucy Quist, formerly the CEO of multinational telecom company, AIRTEL GHANA, is the obvious definition of “women empowerment”, while significantly portraying success in an African woman’s profession.She set several records, won numerous awards and was cited amongst Africa’s most influential feminine figures. The tale behind the evolution of this successful woman is the subject of my article, while educating is its prime purpose. Let’s get to know the story of the pragmatic woman.Lucy Quist popularly known for being the first woman CEO in the Ghanaian telecommunication industry, was born in 1974 in London. She spent her early years both in Europe and Africa. She studied in Wesley Girl’s High School in Cape Coast and attended sixth form at Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, both in Accra, Ghana. She went on to study at the University of East London and graduated with a degree in Electrical and Electronic engineering.She debuted work as an engineer at Ford Motor Company. In an interview in March 2017, she spoke of the obstacles faced while trying to become an engineer. She identified hers as the inability to go as far as she wished at the time she expected it. However, she exudes determination and patience as she depicts how she eventually overcame that.
“Every time an engineer showed up to fix the machine, I thought that should be me.”
At that time she was just a regular factory worker who aspired to become an engineer. She talked about being prepared to grab opportunities. These opportunities eventually lead her to finally become an engineer.She later on joined the Royal Bank of Scotland. She then moved on to work at Millicom and Vodafone. This could be observed as a significant transition from her initial engineering career. However, in that same interview she spoke about wishing to “lead business after becoming a fully-fledged technical engineer”. She also spoke about the evident changes that occurred within her professional prospects, and the way she estimated the scope of that newfound goal.
“When you have an ambition and you cannot immediately picture how you can achieve it, you have to understand or evaluate the steps between where you are and where you want to get to.”
Consequently, she became the CEO of Airtel Ghana and the first woman CEO in the Ghanaian telecommunication industry. By setting this record, she became a pillar on which Ghanaian and African women as a whole can find inspiration and a role model.Following that milestone she laid, she ensued an educational project called “Evolve With STEM”. She intimately believes everything is laid on STEM. Thus, she encourages African youth to pursue an education with solid STEM foundations.
She actively campaigns, has educated and is a mentor for a certain number of young Ghanaians wishing to pursue their education. There is necessity to seek a model that is nearer, relatable as well as finding knowledge in her story and hope in her tale. This is because her journey shows us that achieving goals can be certain as long as the driving forces are greater than the resistive ones.[/spb_text_block] [spb_text_block pb_margin_bottom="no" pb_border_bottom="no" width="1/1" el_position="first last"]
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