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Kai Medina - December 2020

Last Updated: January 2021

On November 23rd, 2020, the BBC released their list of inspiring and influential women for the year. 

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I have no experience in journalistic writing.

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As an educator, I wanted to prove to my students how easy it is to contact amazing people out there, while gaining invaluable insight and wisdom from their experiences. 

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This project is for my students within the MIT Full STEAM Ahead program (but is not officially associated with said program). Each week for a ten-week period, I meet virtually with a class of fifteen highschool students from around Spain to work on enrichment activities related to STEM and the Arts. We’ve had themes such as invention, nanoparticle work using Amplis, and the communication of sciences including epidemiology. Here is a link if you would like to learn more: https://fullsteam.mit.edu/ 

 

As I am communicating all sorts of different subject fields in class, I see a lot of excitement and engagement about everything we cover, which is fantastic! One thing I have noticed, however, is a reluctance to push projects they’ve been working on past our program. We encourage this, as each project they work on could have real-world potential - including ways to help people! I want to show them that if they have a great idea, the world's a lot smaller than they’d think. 

 

To demonstrate this and 'put my money where my mouth is', I’ve contacted everyone I could (79 people) on the BBC 100 Women 2020, and asked them all three questions:

 

When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

 

When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

 

Finally, how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

 

With permission to put their answers in an article, here we are! 

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I am so thankful for the time each of these magnificent people could give for their responses. They are all extremely busy, so even the shorter answers really meant the world. 

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Note: Many of the women I contacted are speaking to me through language barriers. I am keeping all responses verbatim, with exception to small fixes for reader comprehension. I am extremely thankful they responded in English to help cross this bridge, as I have neither a translator nor the language abilities to help me do so. Articles are organized by last name. I chose not to note the mediums by which I contacted them by so best and worst case scenario if this article does well, they don't get flooded with questions.

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I also want to clarify, that while this was to show how easy it is to contact people, obviously I am pulling at subjects such as my students and how I work with MIT, and most wouldn't have those same opportunities. That's the flaw in this design, but also don't be afraid on using what you have at your disposal. If you're a student, mention that. If you're associated with an organization, use that with permission from the organization if it's not something like a school or university. Pull at connections that are at your disposal.

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Finally, to those who responded and answered the questions, if you are seeing this before I send you an update personally with my huge amounts of gratitudes, I am giving my class a chance to read this on their own time, and will send that email when I can give you an update of what they thought. Thank you again.  This truly means a lot to all of us.

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Loza Abera

Ethiopian Footballer

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”?  

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"In 2012, when I was 14 years old, I earned a call-up for the senior Ethiopian national team for their African Women's Nations Championship which was held in Equatorial Guinea. Mind you, at that age I haven't sign a professional contract with any club but the national team scouts have picked me from a tournament called 'All Ethiopian Games', where I have participated representing my district.

 

Sadly due to financial reasons, I haven't traveled to Equatorial Guinea but the experience was a game changer indeed."

 

When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

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"By then I have decided to join a club by signing a professional contract and it didn't take me a while to get one, which was Hawassa City FC. While enjoying success at Hawassa City FC, a couple of well-established clubs from the capital city Addis-Abeba offered me lucrative deals. Despite playing at a professional club, I was a highschool student. Despite the lucrative offers from the Ethiopian women's soccer giants, I made a promise to myself to finish highschool in Hawassa where some of my family members resides.

 

And I made it. I have finished highschool there in Hawassa while playing soccer at Hawassa City FC and joined a program at Addis-Abeba University school of commerce and as the same time, signed contracts with soccer giants in Addis."

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Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

 

"As I told you before, I started playing in a senior level when I was very young. From club level to Ethiopian national team, I played with those players who earned numerous reputations in the field. I do question myself quite a couple of times, whether I deserve to play with them or not. But I have cope-up mechanism, I pray to Jesus and work hard to stay fit and compete with the seniors. I never question my ability. Whenever I work-hard, I am dead sure of achieving my dreams. That's it."

 

(Question from one of my student's on if football is different across countries)

 

"Yeah, I played in Sweden, Malta and Turkey. The ball is the same wherever you go in the world but the structure differs. The way I raised up in projects in Ethiopia is quite different with the one I play side by side in Europe. The structure in Ethiopia is yet to develop. The club structures, the training modalities are yet to get modernize. The system hasn't been updated. This definitely affects my performance but I have the ability of adapting things swiftly. In order to reach and compete with my teammates, I do additional trainings, I try to fill the gap so as to stay fit and win the selections.

 

My life is made of decisions. I have made a number of serious decisions. I don't want to regret after making decisions so I weigh the risk and benefit of my forthcoming decision. And whenever I decide on a thing, I go with it, I stick to my words. I die for it.

 

And don't forget that I am a goal poacher, I have to clinically execute the decisions I made."

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Further reading from the International Sports Press Association

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Adriana Albini

Italian Pathologist and Fencing Champion

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"I decided to graduate in organic-biological chemistry because the laboratory, where the researcher is alone with his imagination

and his test tubes, has always fascinated me to the point of making it my home.

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In 1981 - 1983 I was a young researcher in Max Planck Institute in Munich (Germany).

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Then in 1985 and 1986 I moved to NIDR, Laboratory of Developmental Biology and Anomalies, National Institute of Health, Bethesda (USA) as visiting associate.

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That was the period in which I started to think that 'I could do this!' ."

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When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

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"I never felt the need to do my job as if it were a psychosis, but the need to test myself every day to help sick people, through my work."

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Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

 

"Feeling insecure is somewhat normal, especially when we have to face a new challenge or situation that we don't know how to control. After some time, when we have become accustomed to this circumstance, we have failed, we have learned from our mistakes and we have grown, we become more confident. 

 

I do not think to ever had the impostor syndrome. 

My first step was to believe in myself. The trick is to know yourself adequately, to know what you are capable of giving and to be aware of your limits. 

 

You also need to start accepting and enjoying your successes, which shouldn't be downplayed. If you don't appreciate yourself for what you do, it is difficult for others to do it. Whenever you receive praise, be grateful and take it as a source of motivation and reinforcement for the future."

 

Further reading on La Repubblica
 

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Elizabeth Anionwu

UK Sickle-cell and Thalassemia Nurse

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"When I qualified as a health visitor (public health nurse) even though a supervisor had tried to fail me as I had asked too many difficult questions during my student placement experience."

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When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

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"When I became the first ever sickle cell disease nurse specialist in the UK. It is a condition that mainly affects the black community. I witnessed the relief and joy on the faces of parents and individuals affected by this severe genetic illness when I was able to answer their questions and provide support."

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Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

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"As a mixed-race black woman I found it very helpful to read about famous people who had overcome huge obstacles created by issues such as racism.  Examples include Rosa Parks and President Nelson Mandela."

 

Further reading from her website
 

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Bilkis

82-year old "voice of the marginalised" against the Indian 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"When I see Jamia millya Islamia student not safe from police brutality in jmi."

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When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

 

"When police inter in jmi library bitten the students inter in jmi campus I think campus is safe pailec specially garl."

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Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

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"I think if you do novel cause God always with you I struggle bleve it is god power and I thought Death comes only once, and no power in the world can harm us until death is written And when death comes, there is no one to save, so who should be afraid? When everyone is silent, political Parsons civil sosity coman man then for unity of the country is intact and we have to stand up to save the society, even if it means dying or lost my life.

 

Only an educated person can build a good society."

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Further reading from Times 100 Most Influential People of 2020

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Cindy Bishop

Thai UN Women Ambassador / Model / TV Host

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this” & how do you counteract imposter syndrome?

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"Honestly even though I have accomplished quite a lot in my career, I still have moments of 'can I really do this?' Or even 'what am I doing??'  Life, career and activism is not one straight trajectory but rather a series of ups and downs and sometimes sideways but if you take a step back you will see that you indeed do keep moving forward. So I guess to answer your question, I say that sentence to myself every morning I wake up and to keep myself on track."

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When did you realize, “I need to do this”?


"I realized 'I need to do this' "When I woke up to see that my video posted speaking out against victim blaming had gone viral. Suddenly I had the attention of people and media all over the country. That opportunity doesn’t come very often so I seized it and ran with it."

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Further reading from her website

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Karen Dolva 

Norwegian Chief Executive and Co-founder of  'No Isolation', bringing people together with technology

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"I think I've always had that attitude and owe it largely to both my parents and both my grandfathers. For No Isolation I think the AHA moment came when my co-founders Marius and Matias agreed to join me on what became our company."

 

When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

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"A friend of mine described the kids she was working with in hospital, and that became point of no return. We needed to at least try to make their daily lives better." 

 

Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

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"Hah. Same as the first question - it's always been there. The feeling that everyone can see straight through me and that everyone else knows what they are talking about. I'm getting much better at managing it luckily, but it is a constant pain in the ass."

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Further reading (+ TEDx talk) on her website

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Sarah Gilbert

British Leader of Oxford's Covid-19 Vaccine Research Team

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"My comment is that your students should work out what they are good at, work very hard at it, and then have confidence in the abilities they have developed. They should not be drawn into commenting on topics in which they are not an expert."

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Further reading from the BBC 

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Muyesser Abdul’ehed Hendan

Uyghur Writer and Advocate against Internment Camps in the Uighur Region​

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"I am from a totally different background from what I am doing now. I love writing and teaching from a very early age, along with the encouragement I received from my family, I knew I could do it when I was a child."

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When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

 

"When I finished my masters I thought for a long time about what direction I should choose. I was pondering whether to be an academician or a writer. After I deeply realized we only had one chance to be in this world, I finally resolved to do what I wanted the most."

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Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

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"I am from a very special community, my people in East Turkistan are under oppression, we are facing ethnic and cultural cleansing, that’s why I don’t have much time for criticism or self doubt. My friends and family have always been very supportive, too. But there are difficult times when others or even I doubt if I can do. Every when this happens to me I imagine the day when we can return to our home and our people ask about what we have accomplished for them. It’s hope that makes me hold on to my confidence."

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Further reading from the Campaign for Uyghurs

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Mulenga Kapwepwe

Zambian Co-Founder of the Zambian Women's History Museum

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

 

"I have always looked at doing anything as an adventure, to learn from but always to do no harm. I also regard failure as a resource and as valuable as success. This has put me in a fearless mindset and made me open minded about undertaking new projects. I have established, a film school, libraries, museum and worked with prisoners, I have produced a performance of 6500 artists, developed some of the policies that are being implemented by my government. I love innovation. I am widely read and keep learning, both from experience and from books."

 

When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

 

"Every time I see a gap in my society I try and find a solution. The children's libraries are a result of such an assessment(been running the libraries for 15 years). There were no children's libraries in Zambia. So is my film School because there were no film schools in my country(my school has been running for 9 years). No women's history available to the public so established the Women's History Museum(been running for three years) and so forth."

 

Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

 

"As I said, failure is a resource, whether I fail or succeed I win. If I meet glitch or impossible challenge that I feel I might not be able to overcome I call on the thinking of others to examine my doubts. Surrounding yourself with the best people also helps to minimize doubts about the efficacy of what you are doing. Be open and seek criticism or observations of other people as you progress in your project. Insights from other trusted and informed perspectives are a valuable light to shine on your project and keep you confident. 

 

Apart from motivating the students in regard to their projects being of service to humanity or their community, it might help to spend time showing them and giving them skills how they can access resources to push their ideas. Second, it might be useful to create networking clusters or work visits with hubs, or  one-on-one with other young people working on projects in other countries. Peer exposure and exchange of experiences and knowledge."

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Further reading on CNN

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Chu Kim Duc

Vietnamese Architect of Playgrounds made from Recycled Materials

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”?

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"Before starting to make public playground, I thought some one has to do this, that one has to be so powerful and connected, because public land is sensitive in Vietnam, and I thought the one is not me, I'm no one. 

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But then, we just started from very simple things, to build a very small playground ourself, and people pay attention to that

At that time I though wow, I can do this.

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So it was the start of the Think playgrounds adventure.

This is our Facebook page if your students are interested: https://www.facebook.com/thinkplaygrounds/ "

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When did you realize, “I need to do this”?

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"It was a long story. I met this woman and made a short documentary about her efforts to make a public playground in Hanoi

https://youtu.be/zmFZzvTJx0o

 

Her project has failed to get permission from the city authority, then we thought we have to do something, because that woman flight across the globe to help children here, and we hanoian have to take action

 

Our strategy is to work closely with communities and local governments, who already know who can decide the use of a public land, and who can help to maintain the playground at the site. So we usually don't have to go to a fight, but to find technical, practical solution and to communicate between different stakeholders.

 

We learn the concept of therapy playground from a group of students from an Australian University, who consider a playground as an outdoor therapy activities for children with disabilities. The playground is not only for them but to be inclusive with normal children."

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Further reading on VietnamNet Global 

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Ishtar Lakhani

South African Activist playing a key part in the Free the Vaccine Campaign

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"This is a difficult one because I have not had a typical career path. Although activism for social justice has always underlined everything that I have done, I have expressed it very different ways from coordinating a feminist campaign, to starting a political bookstore and sandwich shop and I have no doubt I will continue to try and challenge myself with different career paths. But what helps is that I am utterly convinced that I can teach myself to do almost anything (accept maths, I am terrible at maths)."

 

When did you realize, “I need to do this”? 

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"So growing up as a queer, woman of colour, in Apartheid South Africa with a Muslim mother and a Hindu father, I defintly knew from a young age that all was not right with the world. My parents were also feminists involved in Anti Apartheid activism. So I can say that social justice activism was in my blood and part of the 'family business'."

 

How did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt?

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"This is definitely a reality for all women of colour, given that the world is still steeped in systemic racism, sexism, classism and homophobia. There is a joke "Go in with the confidence of a mediocre white man" and though it is said in jest, there is an element of truth to it. In my experience (especially in recruiting for job posts) it is always women who are the most suited to the position that hesitate and ask themselves the critical questions of "am I experienced enough?" "am I right for the job?" "is it appropriate for me to apply for this position (especially in the social justice sector)?", where as we will get hundreds of applications from men who are not remotely suited to the position but were raised having their confidence constantly affirmed by everyone and everything around them. So when I am having that imposter syndrome, I first make sure my intentions are sound and then I try and channel that confidence."

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Further reading on the JustLabs Website

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 Leo Yee-Sin

Executive Director for the Singapore National Centre for Infectious Diseases

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"Being recognised and nominated by BBC to be on the 100 Women list this year was a pleasant surprise for me especially when there are so many more well-established women leaders. Because this is an unexpected recognition, it is not a life-goal, but a recognition of the work I have been doing in infectious diseases.

 

It is natural that we ask whether 'I/We could actually do it' when confronting every challenge. And to give our best once we take up the challenge." 

 

When did you realize, “I need to to do this”?

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"I started my career in infectious diseases in the field of HIV medicine. This was in 1993. I chose to specialize in HIV medicine for the following reasons – I saw human suffering, costly treatment that was at the same time not so accessible, and the premature demise of talented young men. This made me want to thrive for equity of treatment regardless of social status, background and/or sexual orientation. 

 

As the years went by, I become involved in emerging infectious diseases (EID)/outbreak management:

 

-   Nipah outbreak in Singapore in 1999 exposed me to a very different field from HIV, and broadened my view to look beyond the confines of HIV to a broader understanding of infectious diseases. 

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-   SARS was a major hit to Singapore in 2003 where I played a major role as an infectious diseases person

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-   I realised that EID will be a recurrent challenge and there was a need to be prepared. Indeed, I have led the team at the Communicable Disease Centre and now National Centre for Infectious Diseases through multiple waves of outbreaks and I anticipate further challenges to come."

 

 Finally how did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

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"I am by nature an introvert, and most of the time I prefer to remain unseen or unheard unless absolutely necessary. It is not unexpected that many would doubt my abilities. 

My personal philosophy is to honestly give the best with sincerity. Award or recognition are bonuses."

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Further reading on the National Centre for Infectious Diseases

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Pardis Sabeti

Iranian-American Computational geneticist, Harvard Professor, Ebola Fighter, and Lead Singer of Thousand Days

 

 

When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this” or "I need to do this"? 

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I remember being in high school watching the movie Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo, which was a pretty wild depiction of outbreaks. The movie revolved around a fictional virus much like Ebola circumnavigating the globe. There's a moment in the film where Dustin Hoffman places a microscopic image of the virus on a lightbox and looking at the structure, says “ it's gone airborne”. And I remember at that moment thinking ‘that is so cool. I want to do that’. The seed was planted at that moment. 

 

I went on to medical school and just found myself always being really interested in infectious diseases, and finding more of my work gravitating to it. And as I worked in Africa later in my career, I began to realize that the problem was much bigger than we think, and that many viruses were circulating much more widely than we perceive . It led me to write a perspective piece in science that was titled “Emerging disease or Diagnosis?”, where I questioned whether all of these viruses that we think are popping up out of nowhere, were actually circulating under our noses. If we looked from the right perspective, they would be right here.Any one of them at any point can have a spark where they take off and become pandemics. 

 

It’s not really like that where there is a certain moment where you say, ‘Oh, I can do this’. It's more slow where bit by bit, things that seem impossible, seem more and more possible. The more you go forward, the more you realize that even rocket science is not rocket science. It's just something you learn and do. And careers are long. Marc Benioff has a quote that I love that says “people overestimate what you can do in a year and underestimate what you can do in a decade.” I think that's true, you're not going to be able to do anything advanced in a year perhaps. But, if you just keep at it bit by bit, you become an expert, and at some point, even a world expert. So finding that thing that you want to spend all the time to become an expert in is the most important thing.

 

How did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt? 

 

I'm fortunate that I'm a person who generally does not have imposter syndrome. It is not that I think highly of myself, but actually more that I don’t. I also don’t really care what others think of me, so I don't really worry.  I try to be guided by my own compass of what is good citizenship and effort, and hope the rest falls into place. So I guess I am fortunate to be oblivious. I can understand though that for many imposter syndrome is a real feeling, and it can be debilitating.

 

One thing I do like to say on imposters syndrome, is that sometimes it is not in your head, but can be the outside world telling you that you're the imposter. As a woman in science, I feel all the time that I'm in rooms where I'm not supposed to be, and I'm not expected or wanted, and I'm put down and made to feel like an imposter. This happened during much of my graduate career. Frankly, even today on a regular basis I'm reminded implicitly and even explicitly that I am a nobody whose contribution is not needed. It doesn't matter that I'm tenured or in the National Academy of Medicine to people who continue to try to remind me that I'm worthless. So sometimes it is external. I think it's important to try to figure out what is external and what is internal, and what part I can play to make myself feel strong. Once you recognize what those outside forces  are, it makes it a lot easier to ignore or use it as a challenge to overcome, and to keep building your sense of self.  

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Further Reading On Her Website

 

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Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about my work. 

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Thank you Tara Srinivasan, Laura Grasso, and Bart Considine for your support and peer editing,  Jesse Norrell for help with writing the questions, and to the Full STEAM Ahead MIT Program & my students for the amazing mentorship experience. 

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HUGE thank you to everyone who found the time to respond to my questions. Those who were occupied in their work are still absolutely fabulous people, and I wish everyone on the BBC's 2020 list the best of luck in their future. 

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Image Attributions:  

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Article Banner Photo: Kai Medina

Loza Abera Banner: Eyolight, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Adriana Albini Banner: Adriana Albini* 1 , Claudio Brigati* 2 , Agostina Ventura3 , Girieca Lorusso1,4 , Marta Pinter4 , Monica Morini2 , Alessandra Mancino5 , Antonio Sica5,6  and Douglas M Noonan1,4, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 

Elizabeth Anionwu Banner: SpicyMilkBoy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 

Bilkis Banner: Mujeebcpy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 

Cindy Bishop Banner: UN Flag, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons  

Karen Dolva Banner: Marius Vabo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Sarah Gilbert Banner: Photo Credit:Content Providers(s): CDC/Dr. Fred Murphy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Muyesser Abdul’ehed Hendan Banner: SFT HQ (Students for a Free Tibet), CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Mulenga Kapwepwe Banner: Flag of Zambia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Chu Kim Duc Banner: Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons​

Ishtar Lakhani Banner: https://covidindia.org/,%20CC%20BY-SA%204.0%20%3Chttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0%3E,%20via%20Wikimedia%20Commons

Alice Wong Banner: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Leo Yee-Sin Banner: TheGreatSG'rean, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Arussi Unda Banner: Harry Clarke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pardis Sabeti Banner: Photo Credit:Content Providers(s): CDC/ Ethleen Lloyd, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons​

Madame Gandhi Banner: Adam Wiggins, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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Kai Medina - December 2020

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Surrounding yourself with the best people  

Reaching out to learn about the Inspiring and Influential Women of 2020

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Madame Gandhi

American Singer and Activist for Women Empowerment

 

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"All in all I look for times of feeling happy and in flow. Anytime I have felt happy or in flow are the times when I feel I want to dedicate my career to something. I like doing things that I enjoy and in turn, making other people feel happy or supported. I feel alive when I play the drums live, I feel alive when I’m recording new ideas and expressing my deepest emotions, I feel alive when I’m speaking my truth on a stage and it is resonating with folks who don’t get to talk about certain ideas that often. I feel alive when I am deep in a meditation, I feel alive when I’m going for a run, and I feel like when I am building something creative with a group of people. I just pay attention to when I feel connected, happy and in flow and that is when I know I don’t have to worry about imposter syndrome and that I should continue on my path."

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Further reading on her website

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Arussi Unda

Mexican Campaigner and Spokesperson for Feminist Group Brujas del Mar ("Witches of the Sea") â€‹

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When was the first time in your career you thought, “I could actually do this”? 

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"We initially had a private group on Facebook to discuss issues related to feminism. Within that group, situations of violence against women began to emerge, they were asking for help there. After we saw that we were organizing quickly to help I knew we could do it."

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When did you realize, “I need to do this”? 

 

"We were able to get a woman out of a violent home for the first time, we received her call for help. There are no bureaucratic protocols in the feminist organisation, we went and took it out of there. There I understood that we were more likely to help a woman who needs it quickly, we needed to do so."

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How did you counteract imposter syndrome, as in, when did you or others doubt your abilities and how did you overcome that doubt?

 

"It's something I still can't leave behind, the impostor's syndrome. In every appointment or recognition comes, there are so many women doing titanic work that makes me feel that I am not enough. Women in particular are made to believe that we are not incredible or do anything incredible, but we are and do, every day. I try to remind myself of that all the time."

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Further reading on The Times 100 Most Influential People of 2020

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