Juno Angula - Bachelor of Communication Honours

Brief: SRC President 2019

Share your achievement/success story in detail. I would like to begin by acknowledging the Department of Institutional Planning in tracking and highlighting the success of current NUST students and alumni and for selecting me as a successful student,. I do not know what constitutes success but in my case success is me being the NUST SRC President 2019 When life has got me in a slump, I would turn to motivational short stories. Not only is reading them like getting an internet hug for the soul, but they just may spark ideas or a change in me for the better. Allow me to please share one of my favourite short motivational stories that sum up my character. Potatoes, Eggs, and Coffee Beans Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the boiled eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied. “Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face. “Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which are you,” he asked his daughter. The analogy or moral of the story is that “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “ Moral:In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people that is why I always strive to be a leader. I started leading in high school were I was the head boy. In prosperity our community will know us, in adversity we will know our community. It is the communities i represented that allow me to apply the concept of the Potato, eggs and beans by analyzing the situation and reacting appropriately. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude which I will use to change the forefront of leadership in our country.

Tell us more about your journey leading up to this moment. I’m a bona fide Namibian, hailed from the Northern Region of Namibia. I moved to Windhoek the capital city for schooling and matriculated there. I’ve got an outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. I’m an excellent organizer with solid planning and problem-solving skills. A quick learner who can rapidly master all aspects of a job, and an honest, responsible, hardworking person. Growing up I have always understood the importance of education and It is those qualities that I saw in myself that led me to choosing a career in communication. Coming from a growing high school that saw little pass rate from grade 10 and 12 learners, making it to universities remained unattainable. This prompted me to start up an encouragement campaign at schools. Lack of self-study was the problem learners faced. Of course, getting the learners to sit down and ask for help where they didn’t understand was the only challenge I faced. Remarkably I discovered that by offering them lunch and agreeing to help them wherever, learners turned up. I still receive calls from some of the learners I helped with their studies. A few passed yes, a lot more did better than what they had hoped for. This idea was very innovative because we must recognize our communities are changing and along with them our preferences, attitudes, and ideas. Technology is an important part of communication, and it’s imperative that we understand the wealth of tools available for us to come to uplift the youth. One of my greatest ability was to always make the conceptual practical and I’m interested in securing an entry-level role at a nonprofit that allows me to develop curriculum with regards to Civic Leadership Institutes. In 2016 I came to NUST and I was registered as a full time student. I began to develop a relationship with the university outside my normal routine of going to lectures only. I would volunteer for almost anything I could help out in ranging from career fairs, cultural festivals, workshops, and so many activities. This led to me building a network with NUST staff that would later be very familiar with me. Of course it was not easy but I persisted. In my second year I registered as a part time student in the hope of getting a fulltime job just to subsidize my mother in maintaining me as a student. I ran for src that year and it was not to be. I would later make it as an src in 2018 representing academic affairs. Towards the end of the 2018 period, I would re-run for src but this time to steer the ship as president. I campaigned well eventually contesting alone in the portfolio and came out victorious. There were adversities along the way to my presidential reign especially coming from a regime were I didn't serve at the best of my abilities. Everything else that followed was because of hard work and unwavering support from my friends and family. Commitment and determination often requires personal sacrifices and I did just that and continue to do so in my capacity as President.

What does this achievement mean to you and how will you use it to motivate others? I suppose I worked hard to achieve whatever achievement I have achieved. But I didn't make the bit of me that works hard, any more than I made the bit of me that ate too many burgers instead of going to lectures while i was here at NUST. Understanding that you cant truly take credit for your successes, nor truly blame others for their failures will humble people and makes them more compassionate. Empathy is intuitive, but is also something people can work on intellectually. I will motivate others by being an exemplary leader, letting people know that success is achieved when preparation meets opportunity. My success story emanates mostly from being innovative and never sleeping on my ideas. Ideas are free and we are living in a world were we creativity is ubiquitous.

What are your plans for the future? My eagerness, intelligence, maturity and enthusiasm was a positive contribution to my high school and to the community i serve as src president so far. I advocate passionate dedication to the pursuit of short-term goals. I intend to be micro ambitious, putting my head down and working with pride on whatever is in front of me. I am aware that my next worthy pursuit will probably appear in my periphery, which is why I am careful of long-term goals. If I am to achieve excellence in big things I have to develop the habit in little matters which will see me climbing the corporate ladder and having completed an Honors degree, Masters in international relations. I would like to be an ambassador of NUST and an ambassador for this great nation and work in government, local authorities and the private sector.

Share with us your success quote! In the wise words of Advocate Esi Schimming Chase Esi "Success is met when preparation meets opportunity."