Developing A Winning Mindset Through Life’s Uncertainties
Intro
How can you learn to adapt and adjust to an everchanging world? Are you stuck dealing with life’s unpleasant circumstances? Today, Dr. Rhoda Afriyie Mensah joins us to share her experiences dealing with life’s uncertainties.
Guest Bio
Dr. Rhoda Afriyie Mensah is a Ghanaian, currently working at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. She is a post-doctoral researcher in the division of structural and fire engineering.
Q: Where did you start from to get to where you are now?
All my education to college level was in Ghana. I also attended a Ghanaian college for four years, studying mechanical engineering. From there, I got a scholarship to study automotive engineering in China, which was for three years (2014-2016). From then, I had another scholarship to study mechanical engineering in China as well (2016-2020). I worked in that department for eight months before I got a job offer in Sweden.
Q: Did you have in your plans to be a doctor?
I wanted to be a doctor, but not an academic. I wanted to be a medical doctor, but I couldn’t get admission in the medical school, so I was advised by my uncle to consider mechanical engineering. I cried a lot, but I finally decided to do it.
Q: How did you get to China?
After Sr. High school, I did national service (service to the country). And while I was there, the center sent emails with scholarships from various countries. Since I had so much pressure to study automotive engineering, I looked for scholarships for that program. I found one school that was offering that. By the grace of God, I earned it, so I packed my bags and left for China.
Q: How did you get from there to a Ph.D. program?
I had a scholarship for engineering, but then a funny thing happened. I spoke to my supervisor, and realized she couldn’t speak English and my Chinese was not very good. So, there was no way we would be able to communicate. So, she told me she told me she could introduce me to another supervisor if I would be willing to. That supervisor told me that the only way they would supervise me is if I helped them with their research. His area was fire engineering. Despite not knowing anything about fire, I told him I was up for the challenge.
Q: Did you ever have the challenge of thinking you were too young?
No! I just go for it. I think you can even do more things when you are younger. When you are older, you have a lot more responsibility. You may have a family to think of, and all that. Age is never a limit. I prefer doing things at a younger age than waiting to grow older.
Q: How have you thought about these uncertainties and what lessons have you learned?
I have learned a lot. The first thing I would say is humans have the capacity to grow. You don’t have to stick to the old things or what you are used to. You should be willing to embrace any challenge that you face. I think that is what has got me here.
One more thing is that, sometimes we face situations that stretch us to our capacity. Trust me, the stretching time hurts. You have to do a lot of new things. But if you stick to your goal, learn the new process, you realize that there was beauty in whatever process you went through. It is worth it.
