Meet The Woman Who Ate Challenges As Breakfast | Felicia Omoediale Samuel – DOSI S1 E2

I actually came into the UK with the

mind that I was [music] going to be a

mathematics teacher. Funny enough, it

was marriage that made me leave by

contract. I had a 9 hour 20 [music]

contract.

>> What does that mean?

>> As in in a week, I was contracted to do

9 hours [music] 20 9 hours 20 minutes.

>> 20 minutes.

>> Contract.

>> It's very important for us to understand

that if you get to this country, things

might not work the [music] way you want

it to work. Two weeks before I left the

country, I found out I was pregnant.

>> Oh,

>> okay. So, it's getting interesting,

right? I don't know if you've seen my

profile, but I have a lot of

certifications.

>> I was about to read it out.

>> So, I would have, mind you, I was

pregnant, but because God blessed me

with a very beautiful slim body. Nobody

knew I was pregnant. But what I didn't

realize was that teaching in this

country is a different body. Fooling

myself thinking I was going to be a

college teacher. The first thing the

college student joked about was my last

name. You'll be booking taxi for an

elderly person and the person will tell

you I don't understand your accent.

Where exactly are you from? And I'll say

I'm from Abedine. No. Damn it. You can't

be from Abodine.

>> This is Diary of Successful Immigrants.

Diary of Successful Immigrants.

Hello there. Thank you so much for your

support on this podcast. Please [music]

like, subscribe, comment, share. Share

this to inspire somebody. [music] And if

you're interested in sharing your story,

please get across to us just by using

the contact details you can see on the

screen at the moment. This is diary of

successful immigrants and the aim is to

continue to share success [music] story.

It's not about the politics. It's about

the journey to success.

[music]

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This is diary of successful immigrants.

The first time I actually teased you was

a very funny time. I think you were

doing like maybe they were having a

women program and then you ended up

coming to the stage and you did a lot

and I was just like who is this lady?

That was you get what I mean? That is a

bit extra. You get that was that was my

first impression to be honest. Then

there was this program which you spoke

at and that was the first time I would

hear you speak outside

>> and you spoke about how like uh people

that are just coming into the UK and

then how they could upskill and get a

better life and stuff. So that was the

first time I noticed your profile and

only for me to realize that [laughter]

you work in Sky.

>> Yeah.

>> And also you're the head of cyber

security. No, not really.

>> Okay.

>> Yeah. So, because cyber security is

quite huge.

>> All right.

>> Currently, I am a senior manager.

>> Okay.

>> And I lead cyber security initiatives

across Sky Group, which is a huge

portfolio because Sky Group it has it

presence in Germany, in Italy, and then

we've got some teams in in Chennai, in

India, and we've got some team in in the

UK. So um the initiative around group I

kind of lead but work in collaboration

with all the other cyber risk leaders in

in different spaces. So I think that's

more of that. But if you look at where I

have been and where I've come from, I'm

quite vast with my portfolio apart from

sky itself. [laughter]

I look at other places. So I was

actually about to get there. You know,

Sky is now like the big thing. But if

you remember very well, I had a

conversation with you after the program

and I was just like this this this and

you were like, "Yeah, I even started in

civil service." I like

>> how come you start in civil service and

you move that fast and that high. So

just walk me through actually because

this is diary of a successful immigrant

and what we discuss here is actually the

journey you get what I mean not just

where you are can you walk me through it

why actually did you make the decision

to even your home country for

>> so basically I was doing well but I'm a

very restless person right let me put it

that way

>> and funny enough it was marriage that

made me leave my home country because

when I met my husband here one of my

episodes of visiting and stuff like that

never knew I was going to get married to

him at the end but you know it life

happens and he's always wanted to remain

in this part of the world so that was

the driver to make me move over to the

UK and the first place I landed was

somewhere called Abedine in Scotland and

that was because that's where I had

friends

>> okay

>> and I [clears throat] landed in the UK

when they had the recession in 2007

>> so they were no jobs.

>> Oh,

>> I actually came into the UK with the

mind that I was going to be a

mathematics teacher.

>> Oh, okay. Was that what you were doing

back in? Funny enough, I was working in

a telecommunication company.

>> Okay.

>> Um, back then it was called Vo then V

Mobile it became

>> is itel and that company has changed

names up to the extent that now I don't

know what the name is, right? But

anyway, not to dish it. So, it was V-Mo

then it became cell. I left when it was

selter maybe that's another story

because it's in another continent right

landing abodine there was no job and I

came in as what the scheme they called

highly skilled migrant scheme at that

time and it was more for me it was okay

I was coming to teach because I like to

coach teach you know I like education

very well and so my idea was I was going

to be a maths teacher

>> but what I didn't realize was that

teaching in this country is a different

ball game.

>> Okay.

>> And I did some trials for teaching and I

didn't have good experience. First of

all, my last name is very long Samuel.

Fooling myself thinking I was going to

be a college teacher. The first thing

the college students joked about was my

last name [laughter]

>> and it was a bit of a struggle.

>> Yeah.

>> But there were no jobs. There were

absolutely no jobs. So can you

contextualize it in like in current day

there's something of you know when you

say there was no job back then what does

it mean in current

>> there was a recession

>> okay

>> in current day now if you noticed the

job market is a little bit slow it's

picking up now

>> when the UK is in recession when there's

no money in the economy you have job

losses I'm sure you would have heard a

lot of stories about people make being

made redundant it's usually that kind of

scenario it's happened before in 2007 it

was like You and I had a conversation

that I worked in the civil service. But

what you don't know was that the first

job I had was working in Next.

>> Okay.

>> You know Next retail.

>> Yeah. Like the factory.

>> So it was the stock room.

>> The stock room.

>> It was the stock room. That was the

first job I had. I had a 9h hour 20

contract.

>> What does that mean? As in in a week I

was contracted to do 9 hours 20.

9 hours 20 minutes.

>> 20 minutes. Oh yes. Okay.

>> Contract.

>> Okay.

>> And then another cough ball was 2 weeks

before I left the country I found out I

was pregnant.

>> Oh.

>> Okay. So it's getting interesting,

right? So I came into this country. I

was already pregnant and I was looking

for jobs. Since I couldn't get the

normal, you know, jobs. I got a

Christmas temp job with next next which

was 9 hour 20 minutes because it was

Christmas time.

>> So it's more like packing hampers. Am I

right?

>> No, no, not [laughter] really. Packing

hamper is maybe because you know me now.

Parking hamper is a good job now.

>> Actually I want you to say a lot about

how the job you get.

>> So it's more working on the shop floor.

Next was a retail shop floor. A retail

you know like the next they have the

next clearance next shops. So I was

working on the shop floor. So you would

have people who would say, "Oh, I made

some orders, blah, blah, blah." Then you

go down to the stock room. The stock

room was downstairs. Use the numbers and

get the clothing and then bring it up

and all those kind of things. Mind you,

I was pregnant. But because God blessed

me with a very beautiful, slim body.

Nobody knew I was pregnant.

>> Yeah. Why I'm stressing the 9h hour 20

minutes uh contract was even if that was

my contract I was working 40 hours a

week.

>> Wow.

>> So I was taking a lot of overtime

in that state. The reason why I'm saying

this is sometimes you make a a leap of

faith to migrate to a country. It works

for some people. It doesn't work for

some people.

>> Yeah.

>> But what do you do when you find

yourself in that state?

I think the lessons I learned doing all

that is what has made me resilient.

>> So after having my son, it was really a

struggle. I couldn't pay my rent.

>> Wo.

>> Yeah. I had friends, good friends from

church, you know, who were helping me

pay rent.

>> Seriously?

>> Yes.

>> For how many months?

>> So they paid rent. So I had my son in

June.

>> Okay. And the job that I was going to

have after that was in September. So

June, July, August, September.

>> And you know because I had not worked

enough to get payment, you know, the

maternity pay.

>> So I was without a job and without money

>> benefit. Yeah.

>> No, you can't get benefit because you're

not a citizen.

>> Yeah.

>> So those were the hard times. And then I

had friends who were now helping me out.

>> But I it didn't stop there. I didn't

really want to continue being in that

state.

>> Okay.

>> So I can cook.

>> Okay.

>> So I started cooking

>> and selling.

>> Yeah. Well, I would well I would say

help people to cook and they give me

stipens, right? Let me put it that way.

>> And then I now found out that okay, this

is good.

>> Okay. Then I now registered myself as a

self-employed person because I needed to

pay tax. I needed to make it very clear

and then I started experimenting how to

make like Suya and stuffs, right?

>> You know, before we came on set, you

were talking about like you documentary.

>> Yeah. Yeah. So IMAX

>> there's a documentary that is going to

be coming up just because of uh

confidentiality. Yeah, I'll probably not

go into the detail

>> where it's going to be

>> but the documentary

>> the guy identified me as a Suya

entrepreneur

>> because he knows my story of how I used

Suya to you know to get most of the

certifications that I have. I don't know

if you've seen my profile but I have a

lot of certifications. I was about to

read Hello there. Thank you so much for

your support on this podcast. Please

like, subscribe, comment, share. Share

this to inspire somebody. And if you're

interested in sharing your story,

[music] please get across to us just by

using the contact details you can see on

the screen at the moment. This is diary

of successful immigrants and [music] the

aim is to continue to share success

story. It's not about the politics, it's

about the [music] journey to success.

So I would so let me just say because

it's very important for us to understand

that if you get to this country things

might not work the way you want it to

work.

>> And I always have this saying that I I I

joke about if like life gives you lemons

you turn it into lemonade.

>> Right.

>> Yeah. So I didn't want to be getting

handouts.

I didn't want to be that person who was

with her son cuz my husband was not in

the country. That's a different I had a

[laughter] son.

>> But but you just said you mar you you

migrated because you got married.

>> Yeah. So in order not to go into so many

so I migrated because I got married but

prior to you know being very honest

prior to the time of me migrating to

myself my husband was asked to leave

>> the UK to be able to regularize his

stuff

>> but that didn't work out well.

>> Wow. So the table flipped and I ended up

being in this country with my son for

about eight years.

>> Whoa.

>> Yes. So

>> is it within the same 8 years that you

went to Oxford for masters?

>> No,

>> that was

>> that was when the glory days.

>> Okay.

>> The glory days.

>> Okay.

>> So basically I think it will be good for

me to just say how I moved from working

in next and I told you I got a job in

September. Okay.

>> He was working in a company called

Comab.

>> Okay.

>> Comcast is the current company that owns

Sky. So that's what happened.

>> Oh, okay.

>> Com

computer cab.

>> Okay.

>> And I was working in the call center

booking taxes for people in London.

>> All right. All right. [clears throat]

And I learned how to be resilient to and

I think one of the things you want to do

in this podcast is to put it out there

so that people will know that what

they're experiencing now

>> is a general phenomenon.

>> It's not the final is not the final

point.

>> I got all sorts of racial slurs and

stuff from booking taxi. You'll be

booking taxi for an elderly person and

the person will tell you

I don't understand your accent. Where

exactly are you from? [laughter]

>> Doesn't matter.

>> And I'll say I'm from Abedine. No. Damn

it. You can't be from Abedine.

>> You know those kind of things. So those

are the kind of shocks. But but that

makes you resilient.

>> Wow.

>> That makes you resilient. What happened

was in computer cab they brought in a

new system and when they brought in that

new system they were looking for

volunteers to test out the system. Okay.

>> And that's how I volunteered to test out

the system.

>> Then I now realized that some of the

jobs I was doing when I was in V mobile

testing out new systems application was

actually a profession on itself and

that's what they call software testers.

>> Oh okay.

>> So that was the beginning of my

certification. The first certification I

got in this country was software

testing.

>> Wow. Is it the SVQ management?

>> Yes. So that is by uh British computer

society.

>> So they've got the software testing I

think it's the foundation and they've

got the practitioner.

>> So I did the two

and I now knew that getting

certification that time would actually

distinguish you between between would

make you different would actually give

you an edge. So I went down that route

while working with computer.

>> Yeah.

>> The DWP um advertised for administrative

officers.

>> Okay.

>> That one was also a um a fixed stem

>> contract.

>> Contract.

>> Yeah.

>> So I jumped on it. So I was a cler in

the in the civil service.

>> Wow. Can you put into perspective how

much were you earning back?

>> I think I started with £15,000 per

random. [gasps]

Mind you, that £15,000 peranom was it

was like me giving

thanks to God.

>> WA because the first salary I had when I

was in next was like £9,000 peranom.

just um tell me about your love for

upskilling because when I was reading

your profile I think you have close to

10 certifications in different aspects

and um you went from com cab to DWP. So

there are two places I'm interested in.

Number one is you did masters in Oxford.

Yes,

>> you get it. I'm interested in how you

got there. And then the other part is

how did cyber security come to you out

of the blues? So first of all, let's go

to maybe Oxford.

>> Let's talk about the experience. How did

you find yourself in Oxford?

>> This episode is proudly sponsored by

Kofa Juice,

>> rooted in culture, brewed in honor.

>> Well, if I may take charge of the

direction of travel. No problem.

>> Because cyber security and Oxford are

almost is the story line together. But I

think one of the key things that I would

if if there is anything that I want to

reference is the understanding of

transitioning between roles.

>> And why that is very key is because you

might find yourself in jobs that you

don't want to do.

>> Okay.

>> Because you feel that you're

overqualified. I mean I already had a

mass degree before coming into into the

UK but I started in the stock room. M

>> one thing I always preach when I go

about talking about transitioning career

and everything.

Every job is an opportunity to grow. I

learned how to communicate

while being on the shop floor.

>> Wow.

>> Yes.

>> Wow. Because one of the thing that is

very daunting for any migrant

>> as long as you were not born here is

struggle with the language

>> and the accent

>> and the accent.

>> Yeah.

>> More the accent not the language because

my country we speak 100% English.

>> Yeah.

>> Right. So it's more about the accent and

understanding what what is being you

know and I learned it on the shop floor

of next. So that's quite key. Then fast

forward moving from computer cap where I

told you I was working in the call

center before I had the opportunity to

test the software and then moved into

software testing. But it didn't stop

there. When I got into the civil

service, I was a normal cler, a job

coach, what they call job coach for

people who are on job seekers allowance.

>> Okay?

>> Do you understand the benefits? So I all

my job was to help people get back into

work

>> which was a passion but I kept my eyes

open uh volunteering opportunities

and for instance I took advantage of an

opportunity to volunteer to be a at that

time six zigma lean six sigma was the in

thing.

>> Yeah.

>> And they said oh they want people to be

a facilitator or to attend the academy.

Yeah.

>> And I was a cler but I I I volunteered

to be a facilitator.

>> Yeah. So what you're saying in essence

is actually that in any role you are

always look out for things and don't

grumble because um one thing I've come

to realize is it's actually difficult

you know like for you to come from where

you are and your eye up there

>> and then you have to just come and just

pick up any role and not feel that

resentment. You know it's not really

resentment but sometimes you just be

like

>> you feel you failed yourself.

>> Yeah you get it. You get it.

>> But can I tell you that most of the

people that I mentor because I mentor a

lot of people.

>> Okay.

>> One of the things I tell them is you

have to face reality.

>> One of the biggest pitfalls for migrants

to this country especially educated

migrants is pride.

>> Subtle pride. Because normally we're all

humble human beings but this is not what

I'm supposed to be doing. This is not

how I'm supposed to this is not what I

dreamt and that has always been a

blocker.

>> But we turn turn that into what am I

supposed to learn in this particular

role

>> process. How one of the problems that we

normally have is how we deal with people

>> right?

I tell people I am so colorblind.

[snorts] You know what I mean?

>> Wow.

>> I am so color blind. So if you are

coming and you are probably judging me

based on my color, I would not even

notice.

>> Oh, now I get it.

>> That's what I mean by color.

>> Like you you don't you don't easily

attach things to your color. You feel

it's just a a very

>> it's either the person has a bad

attitude or the person cannot stand

excellence. Period.

>> Perfect. has nothing to do with where

you understand

>> and then so with that there are many

things that ideology that we need to

drop

>> and pick it forward. So anyway I'll fast

forward because I know you want to hear

the juicy part moved into DWP and went

on a rampage for certifications. So what

I did was to identify where I want to be

in the industry

>> and how I can get there. So even if I

was working as a uh frontline staff in

DWP,

>> I was looking into how to get into

projects. I did my Prince 2

certification, became a practitioner and

you know I was helping people within DWP

know about projects

just just just like that.

>> So So did you set a target for yourself

that I must always have maybe one

certification every year or one I did

every year. What's the target?

>> I did. I did initially I was doing two a

year.

>> Okay.

>> Two a year. I don't give myself

breathing space.

>> Okay. [snorts]

>> You understand? I said I'm a restless

person.

>> Yeah.

>> So I don't give myself breathing space.

I was doing two certifications a year.

>> But what the cost implication though?

>> So that is that's the story now. So

being in an African community.

>> Yeah.

>> You know what they call suzu?

>> No. Oh my days. You don't understand the

streets. All of you came with y butter.

>> No, I'm not. I'm not. [laughter] So I I

I to be honest, I can I can tell you

maybe a bit of an idea of what you mean

by sushu because you know I'm from the

western part

>> of uh the country we are from. I'm not

from south south.

>> So we might be calling it different.

>> I thought a

yeah like contribution.

>> Yeah. Contribution.

>> Why would I know that? My mom sent me to

school with that. [laughter]

>> So myself and your mom, we have things

in common.

>> I'm telling [laughter] you.

>> So honestly, so what I used to do with

other church folks was to do joint

contribution.

>> Then I take the money from the

contribution and pay for certification.

>> All right.

>> Then I work my head out doing suya

plating hair blah blah blah. Putting all

those money back to pay back the suzu.

>> Wow. or the aure or the thrift as I know

that that's the English name thrift.

>> Yeah.

>> Thrift collection.

>> Yeah. [laughter]

>> So that was how I got most of my

certifications. Then I now got into DWP

and now started using their packages to

get certifications. So So the rest is

history.

>> Yeah, it made it easier.

>> Hello there. Thank you so much for your

support on this podcast. Please [music]

like, subscribe, comment, share. Share

this to inspire somebody. And if you're

interested in sharing your story,

[music] please get across to us just by

using the contact details you can see on

the screen at the moment. This is diary

of successful immigrants and the aim is

to continue to share success story. It's

not about the politics, [music]

it's about the journey to success.

>> It is. Yeah.

>> Can you just give a bit of time frame?

So you've been in the UK now for almost

20 years.

>> Yes. Can you give a time frame of like

from when you entered to like you got

into now where you are today in terms of

like walking in line of that carrier?

>> So I think I got in in um 2007.

>> Okay.

>> Moved down from Abedine to leads in 2012

>> which was the breakthrough. Yes.

>> Cuz I got a role in a project

>> DWP

>> in in DWP project.

>> Okay. Then from that project I continued

in most projects. I worked in fraud and

error project, cyber projects.

>> Yeah. So after having my girl that was

in 2015,

>> okay,

>> I now decided, okay, it's time for me to

go into the private sector

>> to upskill again.

>> So I upskilled again. So is is this um

so now going to Oxford University was it

part of your um upskilling schedule like

>> no

>> so

>> I never dreamt of

>> okay

>> going to Oxford University.

>> Wow.

>> Never in my wildest dream did I think I

was going to go to Oxford University

left alone doing a doctorate.

>> Wow.

>> Because I finished from University of

Benin.

>> Okay. in the year 2000

>> 99 2000

>> just to put in context you studied

mathematics

>> I studied mathematics then

>> and you finished with first class if I

remember

>> oh that's your dream now [laughter]

I finished with a tutu

>> oh so we have similar story

>> so yeah I finished with a tutu no yours

>> you were not happy with your tutu

mine

>> I deserved the tutu [laughter]

because I was that's My son better not

hear this. I was one of those people

that didn't used to attend class.

>> Oh, let's not go much into

>> not go much into that because but the

thing was I had a mathematical brain so

I can go that's why I succeeded in math

but that's let's pack that.

>> Yeah.

>> Do you need the truth?

>> Yeah, I absolutely.

>> So what do you think?

I've had interviews where I went into

the interview. I read the hell out of

myself the night before. went into the

interview and went blank.

>> Wo.

>> And then the people who were asking me

questions, you know, they asked me, I

still use that as an example. They asked

me to do some quick calculation that

wouldn't have done wouldn't, you know,

you would block your mindset and just I

think it was some ridiculous thing like

minus 200 200,000 from 1 million or

something like that. And

[snorts and clears throat] because my

brain was flat,

>> you couldn't just

>> I couldn't. Then I took paper and pen

and wrote 1 million 200 and something.

I'm not joking. And I was removing the

zeros because my brain was dead.

>> Wo.

>> So the story for interviews,

I cannot count how many I'm sorry.

Unfortunately, we went for a better

candidate. I think I'm the custodian of

that line.

>> Seriously?

>> Yes. So, because people think people

think those things are strange or those

things are new or those things are

targeted to you. No, it's the normal

thing.

>> To be honest, I've had my fair share of

unfortunate after interviews this year,

especially this year. And it's it's kind

of amazing like some of the things you

go through in this country. And um if

you're watching this podcast, one of the

things you should actually understand is

actually you are not the only one going

through what you're going through. And

for everybody you see that have gotten

to a top to any top organization or to

any top position, they have actually

gone through this. Tell me how did you

actually identify um this sky

opportunity?

>> Yeah. So for in the DWP, I was working

as a business analyst amongst other

jobs. So when the opportunity came in

Sky, they were looking for more digital

business analysts, people who have

worked with systems and because I wasn't

too restricted with the kind of things I

was doing in GWP, I applied for it and I

got the job.

>> Wow.

>> But the key thing is

I mean there are multiple failures that

I've had applying for jobs. But the key

thing I want to stress if there's

anything you remember with this getting

into sky I immediately identified that I

cannot be a general technologist for too

long.

>> I needed to cut out a niche for myself

and that's how cyber came into play.

>> All right.

>> And I looked at it the best way

everybody have to identify the best way

for you to learn.

>> The best way for me to learn is to sit

down in a class and be taught.

M

>> so I was looking for courses that I

could do. I couldn't really find. I even

applied to do a DBA in one of the

universities in the rejection was so

tough. Guy was [snorts] telling me, "Oh,

you have a 22. Oh, by the way, I've just

looked at your transcript in your year

two. You didn't pass this course, this

course, this course. Why do you think

you can do a DBA?" Blah, blah, blah. And

you know, that threw me off. A friend of

mine said, "With your industry

experience, why are you looking for a

DBA in this school? Why don't you apply

and and go and do a masters in Oxford? I

looked at her saying, are you for real?

>> Seriously?

>> And then I now researched Oxford and

there I saw that they had a masters in

software and system security.

>> Okay.

>> And I applied

in my head I was just doing it for doing

sake.

>> And luckily enough scholarship was now

advertised for only that masters.

>> Wow.

>> And I applied for the scholarship. how

you got it.

>> Well, if I don't want to sound, oh, I

got it. So, I look as if I'm very

intelligent, but

>> it was it wasn't a walk in the park

>> because in Oxford they would do

interviews. They would, you know,

>> and one of the things I'm scared of is

academics.

>> Okay.

>> I feel they know more than me.

>> So, that day I was praying at the same

time having the interview and the rest

is history. I think that opened a lot of

doors

>> for me and I found out that I had a

passion for cyber security. I continued

in that role. But

>> I told you I'm restless.

>> Yeah.

>> And I identified that having spent like

more than 6 years working in cyber.

>> Mhm.

>> There's a new era.

>> Okay.

>> And that is how I started looking into

artificial intelligence, securing

artificial intelligence. Hence my

doctorate. So you can see from the

beginning to the end there's a pattern

of identifying where there are gaps

>> where you can create a niche for

yourself.

>> Hello there. Thank you so much for your

support on this podcast. Please like,

subscribe, comment, share, share this to

inspire somebody. And if you're

interested in sharing your story, please

[music] get across to us just by using

the contact details you can see on the

screen at the moment. This is diary of

successful immigrants and the aim is to

continue to share success story. It's

not about the politics, it's [music]

about the journey to success.

>> Yeah. And that is the trick of growing

whether you are doing shop floor

whatever whatever

>> make sure that you are identifying what

you can offer the organization that

nobody else is offering.

>> I don't want us to leave this podcast

episode without you talking about making

you know there's a way you always frame

it that you can build a career for

yourself on LinkedIn.

>> Yeah. So let me use a scenario

>> okay

>> to describe it. So for instance, you are

working in let's say the care industry.

>> Okay.

>> Okay. Which is a very tough industry to

grow.

But there's nothing stopping you from

putting out your profile wellneeded

arranged profile not pictures where you

are looking funny.

>> Right. and put that you are a health

care

>> enthusiast,

>> health care practitioner or whatever

whatever

and then on your LinkedIn any new thing

that is coming out in healthcare you

write about it.

>> Okay,

>> you talk about it,

you read and you bring those new

information. For instance, the care

commission is changing blah blah blah.

As an enthusiastic care practitioner,

these are what other care practitioners

should know.

>> It shows that you have interest in your

role.

>> Yeah.

>> Even outside your job, outside the

hours, outside the money that you are

spending that you you're getting.

>> Yeah.

>> Those are the kind of things. Look for

the area where you are have interest in.

And even if that is not the area where

maybe you are not in that area yet but

you are an enthusiast in that area put

in don't lie about what you are doing

but put in there that you have a passion

for this area and talk about it. I have

mentored somebody who was like that

>> and at the end she ended up getting a

9-to-five job paying her for the things

that she's always talked about in on

LinkedIn.

>> Wow. The first one is was there someone

who believed in you before you believed

in yourself in this country?

>> Oh yes yes yes and if you allow me to

mention names.

>> Yeah you should.

>> Yes. So I had a a director in sky. Her

name is Renee Hunt.

>> Renee Hunt. Shout out to Renee Hunt.

[laughter]

>> She probably kill me for mentioning her

name.

>> No no no. And Renee, Renee just

identified that there was something

>> that I had to offer and I was too much

in the background. I looked up to her

and learned a lot from her. We still

keep in touch. The way she believed in

me, I don't think any other person had

believed in me. Another female. Then

there's another person who was my direct

line manager when I first got into Sky

>> and his name is Mark Kitchen.

>> Wow.

>> Kitchen. [laughter] Thank you.

>> Until tomorrow. I still tell him that um

he's one of the destiny helpers.

>> Wow.

>> That I have in this country. So those

are the two people. Yeah.

>> All right. Thank you. Yeah. So what does

greatness mean to you now and how do you

measure it? Greatness is all about

impact. It's not about you. It's not

about the attribute of what God has

blessed you with. It's about the impact

that you're making. And I'm allow me to

be blunt. If you are not making impact,

there's no greatness there.

>> Wow, that's good. What legacy are you

building for yourself?

>> Would I say for myself or for the

generations to come?

>> Yeah. Like what do you want to be

remembered for something like that? I

want I want to be remembered as that

person that achieved things that made

other people look at it and say because

she can do it I can.

>> Oh wow. I want to make greatness looks

ordinary to everybody.

>> Yeah.

>> You get it? So I don't want greatness to

feel like unachievable.

>> Yes. I want you to hear my story and say

that if you could move from this point

to this point then greatness is

possible. You get what I mean

>> to everybody. So looking back now what

will you tell your younger self

[laughter]

>> or like on the day you arrived this

country. So just like imagine like you

know what you know now and then just

imagine that the day you were arriving

what would you have told yourself on

this?

>> You don't need to fear God. God has got

you.

>> Yeah. You don't need to fear anything.

Okay. If your story were a headline, if

I want to make like a headline out of

your story, what will it work?

[laughter] From abadin to sky.

>> The woman who ate challenge for

breakfast.

[laughter]

>> Wow.

Because I know I know that my story is

about resilience. It's about moving

forward. Is about never giving up. We

would always have challenges

>> but we have to turn challenges to our

advantage.

>> The woman who ate challenge for

breakfast.

>> Yes. [laughter]

>> So Felicia, the woman who ate challenge

for breakfast.

>> I mean [laughter] it's a privilege

having you. It's a privilege having you.

And um just just before you go, is there

something you want to tell somebody out

there that is struggling? You know,

you've shared that you couldn't parent

at some point. You've shared how you

have to move like you said your first

salary was like 15,000

>> per No that 9,000

>> and you said you were even very grateful

to actually have that. So, can you just

look into the camera and actually tell

somebody watching this? You get what I

mean? That um just something from your

heart of heart. Just tell them something

like some just imagine like somebody at

your in your shoes those days and tell

them something that would keep them

going.

>> Sometimes the situation

can be very tough.

>> But you need to realize that you're

tougher than the situation. M

>> and you can make it

>> as long as you have that can do

attitude.

>> I mean the sky is the stepping stone.

>> Thank you very much.

>> Thank you.

>> All right. Thank you so much guys for

tuning in today. This is Diary of

successful immigrants. Um it's a podcast

actually that is designed to share um

the success stories of immigrants. Um

this is not only limited to the UK. Uh

we're still going to be recording in the

US, in Australia, in Canada, in Europe.

So anywhere you are um across the world,

anywhere you are in UK. Um if you want

to share your story, just contact us.

You would see um the email address, you

would see all our contact details um on

YouTube or anywhere you're getting your

podcast from. Um thank you for tuning

in. Please like and subscribe. Share to

somebody out there so that you can

encourage their story. Once again,

Felicia from Sky, [laughter]

the woman who challenged for breakfast.

Thank you so much for coming. It's a

privilege and hopefully um I'm hoping

that I would have to interview you again

the next 5 years um on this same um

podcast and by then you would be like,

"Yeah, I was the first on your podcast."

>> Yes, [laughter] I'll come in with my

gray hair.

>> Yeah. All right. Thank you very much.

It's been a pleasure. Thank you so much

guys for tuning in and do have a lovely

day.