Even if I see a signpost, I will not read it. Those were the words I uttered after dropping the pen for my final exam as a student in the Master’s of Geomatics for Environmental Management program at the prestigious University of British Columbia. The last two months, while not being the most difficult part of the program, has been the busiest and most engaging, ladened with the most commitment and expectations both from myself and others.
It is no surprise then that it’s been two months since I last posted on this blog for you guys, and why I am not making excuses for my absence, I must admit that it has been a roller coaster of some sort for me up to this point. It is surely one which I am excited about and I will be sharing it with you all in a series of blogs in the coming days and weeks. Just in case you're so anxious and wondering what I have been up to within that time frame, here is a snippet.
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7 Secrets of West Africa's Elite Debaters. - By Faithfulness Okom.This year marks my fifth year as a professional debater. It's been five memorable and blissful years in which I have learnt a great deal, networked with phenomenal minds and also enjoyed my fair share of successes and failures.
My story is not the typical grass to grace story because at my first tournament (ANUDC), Nigeria's premier tournament I broke first and was 4th best speaker and at my second tournament I was champion and 3rd best speaker. So, pretty much grace to grace I reckon? That's all thanks to God and His grace of course. Even though I cannot entirely relate with the jagged and craggy journeys most debaters have endured, I have interacted with others, trained a plethora of speakers and had my own colossal failures to know enough and be reasonably resourceful. The following are the factors I've discovered to be front and center, prominent and decisive in the careers of the best and most distinguished speakers in West Africa from my experience. Seeing my classmates share their wonderful ideas extemporaneously in our professional development class earlier today was the motivation behind my decision to finally publish this blog. It certainly felt good being somewhat a part of their journey from struggling to communicate their ideas to an audience even when they have it written down, to being able to speak naturally and without notes. I am sure that for many, the ability to communicate effectively will be a major take away from this Masters of Geomatics for Environmental Program.
There are two main parts to effective communication namely; listening/reading and writing/speaking. Although I might not be considered an authority on this subject because I have not gone through a degree program to exclusively study these two or four skills as the case may be. However, in my twenty plus years of studying all the way from elementary to graduate school, I have been exposed to these core parts of effective communication and I think I might have some ideas worth sharing. In the course of applying for and after winning the prestigious MasterCard Foundation Scholarship to study MSc Geomatics for Environmental Management at the University of British Columbia, Canada, I have been privileged to come across scores of intelligent minds who are also desirous of securing such a great scholarship as a springboard for the next phase of their academic or industry career.
It is common place to hear people congratulate you by saying "ha! You're lucky, you're so fortunate" and so on. However, winning a scholarship is usually far from a case of being just randomly fortunate, or merely due to some divine luck or favor. It is usually as a result of a combination of consistent set of actions aimed at achieving that purpose. While I am a staunch believer in God's ability to bless or crown one's efforts, I am also well convinced that if you do not give him something to bless, then you'll end up with nothing. I have tried my best possible to summarize some of the steps that helped me into the following points. |
AuthorAn urban planner and Geomatics analyst in training who loves to write and take pictures of beautiful scenery in his spare time. Archives
May 2019
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