What did I get myself into?
Back in 2018, I realized my lifelong dream of studying in one of the world’s best universities. I attended the Women Transforming Leadership program in Säid Business School, University of Oxford.
It was a great experience. I learned a lot about myself, I met amazing women, and most importantly, I was so inspired to continue learning. So shortly after the executive program, I applied for a post graduate course.
By the beginning of January 2019, I received the great news that I got accepted into the Diploma in Strategy and Innovation program. I was ecstatic but there is a big BUT. Just a few days before, we learned that we were pregnant. Since my pregnancy was considered high risk, I decided to postpone the course to the following year.
The challenge did not end there. In mid-2019 when the program was asking for confirmation of cohorts for 2020, I applied for funding assistance from my employer. I was planning to apply my learnings after all to my current role. However, my application was rejected. Nevertheless, even if I was surprised (and disappointed) with the decision, I was prepared for any outcome and saved enough money to fund myself.
Now fast-forward to 2020, Covid-19. Need I say more? I was supposed to be in Oxford, England for the course. Thankfully there is Zoom. Pandemic or not, I am so ready to start the course. Yes I am ready even if at the time of writing this post, I have only completed 8 out of 16 articles that I need to read for the course this week.
But why now? Why at my tender age of 43 do I want to study again? Well, taking a postgrad course has never been a priority for me but always at the back of my mind. Continous education has always been important to me, but earning a higher degree was not because I know that it involves a lot of time and money- and, I also promised myself that I will only study for a higher degree if the school is one of the best in the world. It was almost an impossible dream given that I did not always have the funds to support such studies nor employers who provided student loans.
So back to the questions why and why now. Why is because I want to learn about strategy and innovation to apply it to my daily work, to help me realize my advocacies, and to better understand my husband’s business. And why now? It’s because I am ready. I’m ready to break the ceiling. I’m ready to make more impact.
So I asked the question once again: What did I get myself into? An adventure of a lifetime.
I’ll tell you how it goes next time. In the mean time, let me continue reading the prep materials…
Let’s do this!!!
