Inspired to Thrive: Scholar Networking in London

Ashinaga UK held their first ever “Meet the Scholars” event this year with two highly esteemed guests, four wonderful Scholars, and two staff members!

The event was a great opportunity for the Scholars to engage in thought-provoking conversations with our two guests: Muloongo Muchelemba and Tasma Hersi.

Muloongo is the Director of Selection for RISE and a committee member for the Rhodes Trust Foundation as well as the National Secretary for the Global Rhodes Scholarship. Before this, Muloongo has had an impressive 17-year-long corporate career, holding senior positions of leadership in industry giants including fortune 500 companies such as Standard Chartered Bank, Shell, and KPMG.

Muloongo is also the founder of a pan-African blog, ONGOLO, which aims to change the narratives about Africa, and is passionate about finding and nurturing talent in her personal capacity as a coach and mentor. Muloongo emphasized the importance of being ‘builders’ rather than ‘dreamers’ and the importance of understanding cultural differences and having a growth mindset to materialize potential. Muloongo gave each of the attending Scholars a copy of her signed book The Millennials’ Gaido to Work which is packed full of advice and useful tips on how to succeed in the world as a millennial.

Tasma Hersi is an experienced general counsel member who started her impressive legal career as a transaction manager at one of the world’s leading law firms, Allen & Overy. She continued her inspiring legal career as a trainee solicitor with Barclays Bank in the UK and then worked her way up to becoming the Vice President of Barclays. Tasma is now the Director of Citi Bank in Singapore and is passionate about assisting young, up and coming talent in the legal sector.

Tasma, who studied at Queen Mary University of London and Yale, spoke to the Scholars studying law about the challenges they might face in their future careers, as well as which options within the law sector they could consider. In the following discussion, Tasma emphasized the importance of good governance when thinking about leadership and of being your authentic self.

Both Muloongo and Tasma were inspirational to the Scholars, and have continued to encourage, motivate and support the Scholars towards their goals. Muloongo – in both her professional capacity and personal capacity as a mentor and coach – inspires young people to be ambitious, plan for success, and not let anyone, or anything, hold them back. Tasma – in her incredible journey climbing up the daunting legal career ladder – inspires young Africans hoping to navigate the corporate world, enabling them to believe that they too are capable of reaching the very top.

After sharing professional advice, the group discussed the challenges Africa faces as a continent and what we can do to drive change. The conversation was not only enjoyable and stimulating, but also left lasting impressions on both the attending Scholars and the staff.

We are so grateful to both Muloongo and Tasma for their time and all their wonderful insights into what Africa needs as well as their motivating words of encouragement for the Scholars in attendance!

Thank you, also, to Sweet Treats by Muna, who kindly donated a selection of delicious cakes and snacks for our afternoon tea!

 

Read what the Scholars had to say:

“As someone with such big dreams that are often national or multinational, sometimes it’s easy to start believing that it’s implausible. Being in conversation with Tasma and Muloongo made the goals seem so much more attainable and they did wonders for my confidence!”

– Merveille Musau, Democratic Republic of Congo

 

“For me, this was a truly inspiring event. This event helped me to explore how I can use my course of study to make a meaningful contribution to society. This has helped me to create a fascinating move to build the first database system to help minimize Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone. Ever since I returned from this event I have been working closely and tirelessly to meet the ambition I developed during this event.  Thanks to Tasma and Muloongo for their support. This event was very helpful.”

– Mustapha Kamara, Sierra Leone

 

“The event taught me about diverse cultures and boundless opportunities in the international world. I learned that it is my responsibility not to merely adapt but to thrive in the mosaic of this global community, embrace the richness of our differences. For it is through unity, understanding and collaboration that we will transcend boundaries and forge a harmonious path towards a truly international world.”

– Francis Amegbor, Ghana

If you would like to support Ashinaga Scholars in the UK, and help the next generation of young leaders for Africa, get in touch with the UK Partnerships team at partnerships.uk@ashinaga.org