My daughter often jokes that my job is my first child—and in many ways she is correct. I firmly believe in the transformative power of education to sustain and advance communities. I have been at the Arab Academy for Science Technology and Maritime Transport since I started in 1993 as a teaching assistant. Today, as the Deputy President for Strategic Affairs, I can confidently say that my impact on my students and colleagues is a representation of my joys and challenges as a mother in academia. Teaching myself English and earning my Ph.D. in England while raising my 4-year-old daughter taught me to speak up for myself and others, listen to differing opinions, and negotiate the patriarchy of the business field, fuelling my commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Whether a 200-person lecture or 1-1 mentoring, as an educator I create spaces for students to explore their agency and passions, offering lessons that will outlast the class’s duration.
Over three decades, I have taught thousands of undergraduate and postgraduate students and trained hundreds of HR leaders to succeed in their organizations worldwide. I take pride in seeing my teaching assistants pursue PhDs, and my graduates serve as Deans and department chairs in my institution. Perhaps what brings me the most incredible sense of fulfillment is when students from over a decade recognize and stop me on the street to share their successes and recall lessons learned under my mentorship like a mother, I cherish these moments.

The last 35 years have made it clear to me that success does not come in a single day, rather it is the result of years of hard work. My advice to early career professionals is to remind them that in order to succeed they must be determined person who works hard, believes in his/her potential, sets clear objectives, is an effective team worker, and is committed to supporting others. I encourage my mentees to remain committed to their learning and training, as achieving immediate goals—while fulfilling—is not enough, but how they maintain it is key.

My teaching assistants, whose careers will outlast mine, would tell you that our career is not an easy one, especially for women in a patriarchal work environment. Believe in your abilities, stay motivated, and constantly remember that you are doing an important job that influences the opinions of people and has an impact on their lives. Work with a strategy and a clear objective in mind, and make sure you have a competent mentor and are honest about your job. Concentrate on work-life balance to establish an effective formula for both academic and personal success.

There are many ups and downs at work, and each person may have a rough moment where they do not sense any progress, so never give up. Concentrate on your enthusiasm and work hard to remove any impediments to your accomplishment until you can shine once again.

NEVER GIVE UP AND ALWAYS KEEP LEARNING.
THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS.

As an Egyptian female professor, I aspire to assist my country in improving; particularly in the areas of human resources and organizational behavior. Over my career, I have written several papers in international publications focused on real-world challenges at organizations to assist employees and managers in reaching happiness and well-being. From this standpoint, my long-term goal is to finish working on publications that will assist practitioners, policymakers as well as academic staff in learning.

While the majority of our literature is focused on a Western environment, one of my future ambitions is to form a team of HR researchers who will be committed to developing an effective HR system that is compatible with Arab and Egyptian cultures. After being applied to Egyptian organizations, hope to be validated. Although there are Western techniques for dealing with workers and leaders in organizations, I think that we may also have an Arab approach to training our future managers and leaders.

To fulfill Egypt's Vision 2030, which focuses on women's empowerment. I enjoy seeing genuine women empowered via knowledge. The key to success is education. I aspire to be part of more women-focused programs that will equip women leaders for managerial jobs. One of my future goals is to empower women to benefit Egypt's society.

Finally, I wish to mentor as many of my staff members as possible in order to encourage them and serve as a role model for them until they can realize their own ambitions and achieve their goals too.