I look back at my younger self and my first day of school. It was the late 80’s; I started kindergarten in Dallas, Texas. Our teacher is doing a standard name call after recess to ensure all the children are accounted for; she gets to my name and says my name wrong. Unfortunately, at five years old I didn’t know how to speak up for myself and correct her pronunciation. I whispered, “That’s not my name” only once! This set the tone of me excepting the wrong name for the rest of my life, both personally and professionally.
As I get into my profession, I realize I am the only woman of colour with a hijab in my department. I get asked the basic guidelines about Ramadan every year! With these experiences I start to cultivate discussions around diversity and inclusion and develop a huge passion for this area. Wanting to be the change for our children and their children.
As my passion continues to grow I decide to create a consulting service that caters specifically to those from diverse communities and supports entry-level services. I share my personal story to help motivate others. We all have a story that changed the trajectory of lives. What’s yours?
What kept me grounded in my vision is:
- Focus.
- Passion.
- Writing down my goals.
- Being consistent.
Still building on my story with each and every chapter. I dedicate this blog to my younger self, the five-year-old Texan girl who didn’t know how to correct others when they said her name wrong — This is for you!
YasiminAbir HR 