Would you rather stay safe on a paved road or dare brave a bridge to get to your destination? As I quietly sat on my chair, waiting for my turn to take the podium, I started to realize how 'safe' isn't always sound. Today, marked the very first time I delivered a presentation before the heads of the Country Offices, two Deputy Director Generals and THE Director General himself. In IRRI (International Rice Research Institute where I work) parlance, they are the big bosses.
40 minutes and a momentary period of dead silence later, I reached my last slide. It was the heaviest expression of relief I have ever exhausted. I received 'thumbs ups' and expressions of approval from my audience. But what really cracked my guard was a comment made by one of the heads who came up to me shortly after I finished, "From the moment we interviewed you. I knew you are a gold mine".
And they struck gold; with a twenty-something graduate student who still has a bleak picture of a career path in front of her. Turns out this girl was able to fight through adversities and grab opportunities she never imagined existed. Hopefully, she is doing the right things.
-note to self
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