DEFINE what success looks like personally. Set goals and monitor how you are doing. Take concrete actions to achieve them daily, monthly and yearly.

REMEMBER that your values are the foundations of life. Use them as your compass. My values are integrity, compassion and empathy.

TAKE complete responsibility for your life. Jim Rohn reminds us that you have to do your push-ups yourself.

EXCELLENCE should always be your mantra. It is one way to eliminate biases.

INVEST in yourself. Most successful people are voracious readers. Curious minds, and live a life of learning everyday.

COURAGE is key. When women take risks, they are usually well thought out. Do it even if you are afraid.

SEEK help early and expand your network

A POSITIVE ATTITUDE is key. Enjoy life, Have fun and be passionate. Keep your perspective even when you feel that things are not working out as they should.

FAIL FORWARD In fact, I have learnt what people consider a failure is usually a ‘a course correction’ in order to catapult you to greater success.

PAY IT FORWARD There is so much to do to make the world a better place. Your generosity and contribution to society should be your legacy.

Aruna Oteh was the former Vice President and Treasurer World Bank, prior to joining the bank she was the Directir Deneral of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), in Nigeria from 2010-2015.

She has served in several governmental institutions, and is known for her ability to deliver excellently well. She was also recently named the 2018 Ai Global Instituional Investment Personality of the Year.

She is currently an academic scholar at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University, and an executive-in-residence at Said Business School.

Truly, she is a woman of excellence with a quest for modern knowledge.

Despite being born into slavery and enduring over a century of discrimination, Mary Hardway Walker managed to accomplish an extraordinary feat. At 116 years old, she learned to read.

Walker was born in Union Springs, Alabama, in 1848 and lived in bondage until she was freed at the age of 15 following the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. By age 20, she was married and had her first child. By age 68, she had worked several jobs, including cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and selling sandwiches to raise money for her church. Then in 1917, Walker and her family moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. By 114, all three of her children and husband died. She, however, kept on living.

In 1963, she enrolled in the Chattanooga Area Literacy Movement (CALM) where she was taught by a volunteer teacher named Helen Kelly. She attended a one-hour class two nights a week for more than a year, where she learned to read, write, add, and subtract, reported WRCB-TV.

Walker’s perseverance and determination earned her a number of honors and accolades, including the key to the city of Chattanooga. She was also certified as the nation’s oldest student by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and named as Chattanooga’s Ambassador of Goodwill twice. Furthermore, she received recognition from two U.S. presidents, dignitaries from across the country and Canada, and even an airplane ride in 1966. Following her passing in 1969, the city of Chattanooga renamed her retirement home after her and erected a memorial to commemorate her life.

Walker’s remarkable story is detailed in a new children’s book titled The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read (Schwartz and Wade Books), written by Rita Lorraine Hubbard and illustrated by Oge Mora. Geared toward children between ages 4 and 8, the book highlights her inspirational life, which spanned from the Civil War to the civil rights movement.

“I learned about Mary Walker on a class field trip when I was in 4th or 5th grade, and I always wondered why she waited so long to learn to read,” Hubbard told BLACK ENTERPRISE in an email. Years later, Hubbard rediscovered Walker while researching for her first book, African Americans of Chattanooga (The History Press, 2008). “I began some in-depth research. I discovered some interesting tidbits,” she continued. “The more I learned about Mary, the more I felt that children and adults could benefit from reading about someone who believed ‘it’s never too late to pursue your dreams’.”

Hubbard, who has penned award-winning books for both children and adults, said that she wanted to tell Walker’s story in picture book form in order to engage young readers with history. However, she also aims to inspire people of all ages “who think it’s too late” to pursue a dream. “if Mary could do it at age 114 (and succeed at age 116), so can they,” she said.

According to her website, Hubbard originally wrote The Oldest Student in 2016 before it was acquired by Random House. The book is slated for publication Jan. 7, 2020.

Credit : Black Enterprise