I’ve decided on the topic, “Accidental Growth “ before I saw this quote: “Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.” and it perfectly fits.
So there are no accidents. Just happy mistakes.
In my life, I never knew what I wanted to do. I was just fueled by the motherly lustre that’s all time put in me that I can be the best in whatever I choose to be.
Few years after graduating from high school, I was asking questions on which career path to follow.
But while preparing for exams, I choose engineering over medicine.
I graduated from Engineering school and began my career as a classroom teacher. This was when I had a mind shift of flipped learning. I think it’s always rewarding to start doing something before learning about it. Some call it experiential learning.
Teaching in the classroom opened the unending profits and contributing education could make in national development.
I wondered why the university lecturers didn’t teach where a particular course can be useful before actually teaching the course itself. African graduates would have become more job creators than seekers.
From the classroom, I transitioned into educational management consulting and continued picking skills like I’ve been doing since I left engineering school.
I learned and got certifications in;
Non Profit Fundraising Essentials
Content Marketing Foundations
Jodi Glickman on Pitching Yourself
- IDEO.org
Human Centred Design
- YALI Regional Leadership Center East Africa
Community Organizing for Action
- YALI Regional Leadership Center East Africa
Fundamentals of Grant Writing
- HP LIFE
Strategic Planning
- HP LIFE
Leadership Certificate
- HP LIFE
Customer Relationship Management
- United States Institute of Peace
Fundamentals of Strategic Advising in Reform Environments
- United States Institute of Peace
Good Governance after Conflict: Guiding Principles
- United States Institute of Peace
Negotiation and Conflict Management
- United States Institute of Peace
Conflict Analysis Course
- United States Institute of Peace
Interfaith Conflict Resolution Course
Engaging Storytelling with Instant Articles
- HubSpot
Content Marketing Certification
- HubSpot
Email Marketing Certification
- HubSpot
Inbound Certification
- ALISON – Free Online Learning
Diploma in Business Management and Entrepreneurship
Looking through all I’d learned and these certifications, you’d see that there is not much of a correlation between them, but they all had a story behind them, they helped me in my growth journey and I’m glad I constantly sought knowledge in whatever interests me.
In 2018 – I became more intentional with my learning journey.
I had a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a postgraduate diploma in Computer Science, a degree I took when I wanted a degree to back my ICT knowledge.
So I decided to pick more certifications in Education. This made me enrol for a postgraduate diploma in Education. I completed that and became a certified teacher from the Teachers Regulation Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
I’m currently on the journey to earning a Masters Degree in Educational Management. And constantly learning Instructional Design with Devlin Peck.
Along this journey, there have been tons of growth opportunities and impact. Those, for me, are enough to have a fulfilling life.
So know this today, there is no such thing as accidental growth. Every growth is tied to a precursor sacrifice.
I leave you with this street quote, “It’s better to have a certification and not need it, than needing a certification and not having it.”
Talk soon.
