Bio-wise and otherwise

Diann Olden chats up women@IEC

At a time when us women were sipping endless coffee and pondering over our questionable future, Diann Olden came along and did some good ol' straight talkin'.

Her message was so simple and yet so meaningful. "Draw that 'T' and chalk out what you need to do and what you don't want to do. But go for your dreams and aspirations." she insisted.

When Diann  got married, she stitched and baked and played 'home 'n hearth'.  She brought up her kids like any mommy should, or as any mommy-in-law would think appropriate.

But no matter how hard she tried to push her aspirations into the background and wear her apron steadfastly, she continued to dream of taking up a job. And so one day, she got herself a job. There was no looking back, thereafter.

At some point of time Diann joined Xerox. Where she was hired to play secretary. And that role, she flatly refused. A few boring assignments later, she found herself in a field position which was definitely in her line. Then on, she planned her career one step at a time.

Diann advised us to always follow our interest and keep re-assessing our occupation to see if we still felt passionate about pursuing it. People, according to Diann, often change their aspirations in different stages of their lives, and therefore, must be open to any corresponding change that has to be made in career.

It was a great meeting and we enjoyed watching Diann's expressive face, as she unfolded the story of her career and family. She has two great kids, an 87 year old dad, and a sister. Life has given her a bundle of experiences and strangely, many of them match with those in the knapsacks that we ferry along in our own lives.

If there's one thing we want to say, that is: Diann, you ROCK! 

A picture is worth a thousand words and I decided to  write 4000 more... 

 The ladies smile as Diann shares a joke

The clocks kept ticking but who's keeping tabs?

 In case you wanted numbers...and switches (the white squares up front!)

Then the grand female, er sorry,  finale!

Posted at 11:02AM Aug 09, 2007 by Manju in Sun  |  Comments[1]