Anya Satyanand
Some of you might be able to emphasise with our next story a little bit more than others. Having finished high school and not really knowing what to do, Anya Satyanand took a gap year to work in hospitality. Although she still didn't know for sure what it is she wants to do by the end of it (this can be a rather familiar feeling, right?), so Anya enrolled in gender and media studies at the University of Auckland. A great friend of hers suggested that she should become a teacher and Anya went for it, this seemed to have been her calling as she absolutely loved it.
Before starting a job at Wellington High School, a few years were spent teaching in England, giving Anya the opportunity to work in a variety of places from which she had learnt a lot. Being able to work with colleagues and really inspiring young students led to her appreciating the work she was doing and feeling fulfilled doing it. Her definition of success, "People who have built a skill set of competencies and abilities that enabled them to do work they find hugely meaningful.", was achieved when she moved into the public sector to be an advocate for students, teachers and school systems. This resulted in seeing the need for schools and the broader sector to be in close relationships with each other. This step allowed her to experience a big learning curve, especially regarding financial capabilities.
Anya faced several personal challenges when navigating her career, such as self-belief, and she thinks that is a struggle that most women have or will face. Research says that men don't experience imposter syndrome in the same way as women do. It is crucial for women to look at it this way:
"A sense of self-belief, like I got this, I'll try something. You should be thinking creatively about what your future could look like, and having a go at things that you wouldn’t necessarily try."
Not knowing what you want to do and how things might play out can be scary. However, you just need to “Trust that however your career threads together, regardless of how illogical some of your moves might seem, when you are in the moment of it and in the midst of uncertainty of what you are doing, have faith that you will end up exactly where you need to be.”
Something that will be very helpful in this process is a good support system. “Find good people. Have a big life outside of work, have a big life at work. Do other stuff as well as working, it will help you retain a perspective in terms that you don’t give everything to work.”
Before starting a job at Wellington High School, a few years were spent teaching in England, giving Anya the opportunity to work in a variety of places from which she had learnt a lot. Being able to work with colleagues and really inspiring young students led to her appreciating the work she was doing and feeling fulfilled doing it. Her definition of success, "People who have built a skill set of competencies and abilities that enabled them to do work they find hugely meaningful.", was achieved when she moved into the public sector to be an advocate for students, teachers and school systems. This resulted in seeing the need for schools and the broader sector to be in close relationships with each other. This step allowed her to experience a big learning curve, especially regarding financial capabilities.
Anya faced several personal challenges when navigating her career, such as self-belief, and she thinks that is a struggle that most women have or will face. Research says that men don't experience imposter syndrome in the same way as women do. It is crucial for women to look at it this way:
"A sense of self-belief, like I got this, I'll try something. You should be thinking creatively about what your future could look like, and having a go at things that you wouldn’t necessarily try."
Not knowing what you want to do and how things might play out can be scary. However, you just need to “Trust that however your career threads together, regardless of how illogical some of your moves might seem, when you are in the moment of it and in the midst of uncertainty of what you are doing, have faith that you will end up exactly where you need to be.”
Something that will be very helpful in this process is a good support system. “Find good people. Have a big life outside of work, have a big life at work. Do other stuff as well as working, it will help you retain a perspective in terms that you don’t give everything to work.”
Additionally, you want to be surrounding "yourself with people who inspire you to stretch yourself, to reach out, to aspire bigger things." It is a leap of faith to get your first job or to change the industry or sector you are working in or even to make the decisions to do a tertiary education and get a degree. But you need to "Take risks and believe in yourself. Take chances and trust that you can do incredible things. Amazing things happen when you make a leap of faith or take a chance on an ambition."
Some of Anya's most significant wins are to be able to work on an international level and establish an international alliance, which was launched formally at a commonwealth ministers meeting. She is advocating for young people to work more powerfully on an international level, either in the commonwealth or on platforms such as the UN. This is just amazing, isn't it? But most of us know, that there are sacrifices to be made if you want to be successful in certain areas of your life. And Anya admits that at time work gets out of control and life get out of balance, but as long as you learn that life has to rebalance after stressful times, to get the work done, you will be fine. This is further influenced by the perception that women are the ones that have to be thinking about how to balance work with family stuff when men aren't really thinking about it. However, Anya's family is great, and the role of balancing family stuff with their careers is evenly split between her husband and herself.
Anya firmly believes that teachers should get more recognition for the vital work they are doing in our schools. Teaching is a profession just like any other and should be treated as such.
"Young people are changing the world already. Their ideas, competencies and literacy are exactly what is needed to change the world. Look around yourself, listen to the news, there are so many successful, idea-rich young people out there that are ready and willing to change the world for the better."
Interviewee: Anya Satyanand, New Zealand.
Role: CEO at The Prince's Trust New Zealand
Summer 2017/2018
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If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.
If you are a cool chick with a great story, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to send us deets of other amazing ladies you know too, and we will reach out.
Tēnā rawa atu koe.