Abiyot Sime

One of my career aspirations is definitely to be in a leadership position. In my most recent role as people operations lead at a start-up, I was thrilled to manage three interns. Supporting them as a mentor in their career growth was especially fulfilling. At this company, or elsewhere, I hope to work toward becoming the head of human resources so that I can improve employee well-being. Studies show happiness with internal structures and culture is the key to profitability. I want to lead with empathy while achieving business results.

My undergraduate education has prepared me well for my chosen career. Understanding the underlying structure of a group’s culture is essential to successfully communicating with the group. In studying folklore and mythology, I’ve learned how to parse the unspoken structures of folk groups, and how those structures can be used to build bridges of understanding. For example, in a culture where most illnesses are believed tobe caused by witchcraft, as is the case for the Zande people of central Africa, any successful health intervention or education program would of necessity take into account their very real belief in witchcraft.
I was work in the education industry for one of the largest providers of education benefits in the world. In addition to reigniting my passion for data and quantitative analytics, working for this company has immersed me in the business side of education, a critical component of public education.

Reading.
Learning a new language.
Hiking.
Gardening.
Vacation planning.
Staying informed.