Screenshot from www.exeter.ac.uk ‘s homepage
So we had a GREAT Course yesterday!!! Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it in a separate post!
BUT before then…
I just have to celebrate this AMAZING lady who has achieved so much in SUCH a short time! Well…. short is pretty relative but vis-a-vis her age, she has achieved A WHOLE LOT!
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Meet Temilola, my sister…. yup also my Maid of Honour. 😀
She may appear all innocent-looking and all but HA! Do not be fooled! She is smoking HAWT! A FIRE-FOR-FIRE no-nonsense lady filled with BRAINS!!!
I HAD TO talk about her achievements today, not only because she is being celebrated by her University as one of the 41 “extraordinary” women as part of International Women’s Day but also for the following reasons:
– First to prove to all the chauvinist guys out there that we ladies are more than just fine faces;
– Second to celebrate ladies who are making a mark in one way or the other in their various endeavours; and
– Third, to encourage ladies out there who are still pressing on despite facing many challenges.
I remember calling into a radio station about 3 years ago. Someone had sent an sms to the host with his New Year wish which went along the lines of:
“I wish in this New Year, women would be less mediocre”.
I felt so insulted by that SMS that I called into the station and give whoever wrote that a piece of my mind. I stated point blank that “birds of the same feather flocked together”. As far as I was concerned, if he was surrounded by “mediocre” women, then it was a determinant of the kind of person he was since “mediocre women” (whatever that means) gravitated towards him.
PLUS I challenged him, hopefully he was listening, why he had not done anything to improve the lives of the so-called mediocre women.
A designer who recognised my voice called me to tell me a client of hers who heard my comment said “I was too opinionated for a woman“ and worse, his wife who was sitting beside him said nothing!
I don’t know about you but I am surrounded by successful women! Women at the pinnacle of their careers! Women who are not defined by society’s double standards and women who ensure that, despite all, they will rise up above every circumstance! Women who are not defined by the men they marry or by who the society expects them to be i.e. the weaker vessel. I am surrounded by women who make a name for themselves and rise above all, despite all society throws in our faces!
And this post just proves that!
I posted this on Instagram earlier. Now you tell me why I should not get a band together and make all the noise I can make 😀 Always great to be associated with inspiring people.
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Proud! Proud!! PROUD of my sister!!!
Not only a Phd holder (at UNDER 30 by the way) after 2 Masters Degrees (from the University of Cambridge and the University of Warwick – like WOW right?!) Oh yes! Let’s not forget about her 1ST CLASS from the University of Ghana, Legon!
BUT also 1 of the 41 “extraordinary” women celebrated by the University of Exeter as part of International Women’s Week.
Now tell me why I should not be grinning from ear to ear
We are more than just a bunch of fine ladies in our house. We have the brains as well!
Congratulations Temilola!!!!! Many many more recognitions to come!
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Taken from Temilola’s Blackberry Update
And she made the Monday web cover as well! That clearly is a big deal! And that is why I am also posting this ON a Monday to start our week off on a great note! I know mine started off on an excellent note!
Check out what she has to say at this link:
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/staff/equality/women/womensday/41women/temialanumu/
My sister’s story is amazing. And perhaps someday she might let me tell it… (though I really doubt it but who knows…) She faced a lot of challenges but I bet she has pretty much forgotten them now with this recognition. Anyone studying a Phd. will tell you it is not easy work at all and finally, it seems all that pain and hard work have just paid off! And the sky is the limit!
As always our greatest thanks go to God – first of all – for seeing her through all her challenges. AND second, for giving us an AMAZING mother who consistently encourages us to be the best we can be and supports us all the way at whatever we do.
Congratulations Temilola! We know how hard you worked. And my prayer is that you continue to defy all odds and may God continue to give you the strength to take on new challenges and excel in all you do. Continue to make us proud! We love you to bits and we are there with you every step of the way! 😀
And congratulations to every woman out there reaching milestones in their careers! We live in a society where people expect us to sit and be pretty; one where men believe for them to listen to what we have to say, we must be “visually stimulating” (as someone said to me). Just imagine that!
Gone are the days of “trophy wives”. Never compromise on your standards and never make excuses for your success! Do not have a victim mentality, do not do what society expects if it means lowering your self-worth and never let anyone make you feel less than adequate because you don’t have a ring on your finger.
Buy that car if you want to, buy that house if you can afford it. Any man who is intimidated by you or your success is not worthy of you in the first place!
Trust me! The BEST is yet to come!
Have a great week!
