What important skills did you learn in your first job?

I learned to pay attention. It sounds funny but I had to quickly learn what was required of me. I had to know what I was responsible for and I needed to know what my end result needed to be. Once I knew that, then I had to do it faster and better than anyone else!

How do you use these skills in your position today?

Responsibility. You have to be responsible for what you do. You cannot work just a nine-to-five job and then leave at five o’clock and forget everything you did that day or leave things unfinished. I stay until the job is finished. I leave my job every day feeling proud and happy with the job that I did that day.

What obstacles have you experienced on your career path?

Being a woman in a man’s world was a big obstacle for me. I worked as a certified public accountant when I moved to this country. This was primarily a man’s job. I am a woman with an accent so I had to learn to be patient with people’s attitudes towards me and I had prove to myself that I could do the job. Once I could trust myself, others saw this, and their attitudes towards me changed; I could move forward.

What advice would you give to a young person starting his or her career?

In the beginning you have to work very hard. You have to go the extra mile. There will be many times that you may want to give up. You must persevere. You may think what you are doing is not working but you have to keep going and eventually you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

What is most rewarding about your job?

I do what I love. I really enjoy what I do. I believe this attitude is apparent to clients. To me, my job is not work because I love it. You know you have achieved a great thing when you love what you do day in and day out. That is very rewarding to me.