“Answer the why” you are the person for the job!

About Our Guests in this episode:

Beth Trevino manages recruitment for all positions at both Principia College in Elsah, and the Principia K-12 School in St. Louis. Her role includes including advertising, communicating with candidates, facilitating search committees, and on-boarding for all new employees. For her Net Effect conversation, Beth will be joined by student intern Gabriel Theodoro, an aspiring Human Resources professional in his senior year at Principia College, and a manager of student employment.

Beth launched her HR career as a part-time student worker doing the student employee payroll. When she graduated from college, she was offered a full-time position to continue her work with the Student Employment program and develop additional experience with the college’s Workplace Safety and Risk Management department. From there, Beth continued to grow professionally and was promoted to various HR positions.

Beth has a BA in Business Administration and History from Principia College and is recognized as a Certified HR Professional by the Society for HR Management, considered the global standard in certification for HR professionals.

Growing up in Oklahoma, Beth gained an appreciation for the outdoors and really loves living in a rural community of Grafton, IL with her three children and husband.

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Transcript of episode:

Robin: Today’s episode’s is really special. Many people all over the world are feeling some of the same things that Jesus’ disciples did when they exclaimed in Luke 5, “Master, we’ve worked all night and we haven’t caught a thing,” and he responded to his disciples. He said, “Hey, have you cast your net on the right side,” in the right manner, in the right place?

Well, you’re in the right place today. We have two wonderful folks that are here who have ideas and suggestions and inspirational stories to share that will help you work in the manner that the master Christian instructed his disciples to do.

I would like to welcome Beth and Gabriel to our Net Effect today. Welcome, you two.

Beth: Thank you. Thanks for having us.

Robin: I thought we’d start with Beth. She is the Director of Human Resources at Principia College, and she started her career in human resources as a student employee doing student payroll.

So Beth, what was it about human resources and how did you get started down this career path?

Beth: I was fortunate in my student experience to get the position that I did, managing the student payroll. As I got through high school and into college, I thought perhaps I would go into accounting, and that’s why the payroll position was appealing to me.

I loved that position actually, but it was embedded within the HR student employment, job placement function and office. And I quickly realized I didn’t want to be stuck calculating numbers and punching time cards all day, every day.

So I was exposed to the other aspects of hiring and human resources, and realized that actually HR was a really nice combination and balance of having some work with detail and numbers, but also having that people component and getting to serve people and work with people.

Robin: Well, that’s really, really neat.

Gabriel is the human resources intern at Principia College. He’s an international student from Brazil. I’m wondering, Gabriel, how did you get to Prin and tell us a little bit about your background and what started you down the track in human resources.

Gabriel: To start off, how I got to Prin was that back when I was a teenager, I had an uncle who lived in St. Louis, Missouri. And so I came here to visit him for a month. And while I was here, I got to play soccer with a friend of his and that friend of his knew the former coach from Principia, who I got in touch with that put me in touch with the current coach at the College. That’s how I got in touch with Principia, Christian Science, and that’s how I started learning.

Robin: Were you a Christian Scientist, did you grow up in Christian Science?

Gabriel: No, I did not grow up in Christian Science. That was my first contact with Christian Science.

So when I went back to Brazil when I was 16, that’s when I started going to Sunday School online and started learning about Christian Science, and about Principia and all of that.

Robin: Well that’s an interesting story. So did you land in human resources by design, or how did you get into that track?

Gabriel: When I first got to college, all the jobs that had were mainly to make money and pay for school. One of my best friends was like, “Hey Gabe, you should try to work here, I think that would be good for you.”

And so that’s when I got my first job in HR. And I started just as a regular student worker, just doing administrative, an assistant position, doing filing projects and answering emails, answering the phone for supervisors and, and being in touch with students.

That’s how everything started. And then after a year, I saw the opportunity of staying there and becoming the next intern. And so that’s when I applied for it, and I did the interview process and since I’d been there for a while already more than most of the other people that were at the time, I got the position and I’ve been there for the past year and a half now as a student intern.

Robin: How do you have success today in the place that we’re in right now? I’m going to flip it back to you, Beth as it relates to, if I’m a job seeker, what are some of the things that I should be thinking about?

Beth: In my position, everybody comes through the application process with fairly specific skill sets and backgrounds. Of course we’re looking for a match with regard to those skillsets, but usually what stands out more and takes the candidate to the next level are the qualities that you pick up on.

As I reflect on those qualities of what I feel helped me through the various successes over the years it’s sort of what I pick up on from others as well.

The list could go on and on, but in terms of narrowing it down to trying to get that job, find a job or find your love of a career, whatever that is, are these three: just in a general willingness to take action, to seek out networks folks, jobs, job openings, whatever that just to be willing. And then openness, we all sort of get stuck in our heads, what we think we want or what we have to have in order to get from point A to point B.

I’ve always found that just being open to whatever ideas present themselves naturally after being willing to hear or listen or explore whatever comes just sort of opens things up.

The next one is just this adaptability. And being able to adapt to the situation, have an awareness of my audience, and awareness even of myself or the fact that maybe this won’t be forever, but this is that first step in the right direction.

All of those three qualities I find get me through every phase of project work, applying for a job, whatever it is. And so it’s this state of thought that I’ve found is really helpful.

Robin: I always ask our guests about networking and the things that they should be doing.

Today, It seems that particularly students are kind of in a neutral position or even a backup position, as it relates to thinking about, getting a job or what should they be doing.

I also find there’s an awful lot of folks out there that are job seekers that aren’t really sure where to go or how to do it, or even how to start, making contacts with people.

So what are your thoughts about that, Beth?

Beth: I’m speaking to a broad audience here. So the first thing I would say is to seek out whatever connections there may be. So if you have connections at church, if you’re in school still, and you have professors with connections at other colleges or universities, or in certain career fields to reach out to all of those people that you’re aware of and take advantage of those opportunities.

That’s the first thing I learned in going to college was the exposure and the opportunities. And I could have just easily sat back, gone to classes, gone back to my dorm room, but I tried to take advantage of all those opportunities.

The sky’s the limit in terms of how far, and how deep you decide to dig, to make new connections. You can always make connections, but you do have to be proactive and take advantage of the opportunities that come up.

Robin: How about you, Gabriel? How have you found networking? Is it something you like? Is it something you’ve had success with and if you’ve had success, what are the things that you’ve done to be successful?

Gabriel: I believe it’s needed and I wish personally, I should have started earlier in college. I started a little late. I see how good and helpful it is to have it, because I started probably last fall, in my last year of college.

But if I had started probably two, three years ago, I’d have a bigger network right now.

However, as Beth was saying, you just pretty much reach out to people, because you never know who those people are going to know.

I’ve been personally, for the past, two months, I’ve been meeting a lot of great people and having a lot of informational interviews and that has been very helpful for me, going into my next step now, after I graduate in May.

Robin: I have a question of Beth, and it relates to the navigating, the hiring process. If I’m a job seeker, Should I have a plan? Should I know what jobs I’m trying to find? How do I go about doing something like that?

Beth: Yes, absolutely, you should have a plan.

There are some things that have changed through this last year and the pandemic, and the way business is conducted.

But there are things that also have not changed. And so, the plan should start all the way at the beginning, from networking and making as many connections as you can, to figuring out what those opportunities are, performing your job searches, going and looking for the jobs that you want.

But once you’re there and you’re ready to start applying, I like to sort of think of the job search similarly to how you might invest your retirement portfolio.

You always hear to diversify your portfolio. So I say, diversify, your approach. It’s not a “one and done,” apply electronically, walk away and wait to hear.

Apply electronically, make a personal connection. Use your cover letter to express what you need to get across, and follow up. Create a plan for what kind of follow up communication you’ll have. And again, the most important thing is to keep those connections going, if you can. Finding different touch points is really helpful.

Robin: So when you say new technologies, what are some of the new technologies that are happening as a result of COVID?

Beth: A lot of interviewing. So the application processes pre- COVID had pretty much already moved digitally. Even if you want to go to retail big box store and apply, it’s all on a computer.

It’s the interviewing process that has shifted. So depending on the field and the work that you’re applying for. Here at Principia College, our interviews have been almost 100% remote.

So being prepared to have the technology you need in front of you, a laptop or a working iPad, whatever it might be, knowing whatever the platform is that you’re interviewing through. We’re on Zoom right now and testing it out just being prepared is really important for going remote.

Robin: Is it okay to have my dog in my lap or my cat walking across my desk as I’m talking to you?

Beth: That’s a really good question. A lot of articles and just different conversations I’ve heard taking place as well. Folks are trying to have compassion for that work at home experience where there are maybe children playing or crying in the background or dogs walking across.

If you’re going to interview for a position, I think that everyone should be prepared as if they were in person. So if you can eliminate any distraction, have a simple background, be prepared just as if you’re in person.

Robin: If I’m doing that, are there a couple of things I should really think about if I’m Zooming, and I’m doing an interview with, a team or is it one person?

Do you think that that, that can be effective for the person on the other end? Can they get comfortable enough? How do you do that?

Beth: I’m typically on the other end, interviewing the candidates. And so I have my strategies to try to work with the candidates and get them to feel relaxed and comfortable.

There’s sort of a relatedness that you try to find in someone to make them feel comfortable. You try to relate in certain ways. And I think the same thing would apply if you’re interviewing for the position – sit back and listen. Having that sort of awareness and adaptability, but try to find a way to relate and, and show interest in the interviewing and conversation that you might be having, again, as if you were in person versus behind the screen on the other side.

Robin: Gabriel, I’m sure you’ve had some interviewing opportunities. You’ve kind of been on the other side of the fence. What’s the process been like for you?

Gabriel: It’s been interesting. I’ve had a few interviews in the past few months and I’ve used a few tips from some of the people that I talked to for the past few months.

One of them that I enjoyed a lot was to, when you talking to a certain company, you always want to know the values and the mission of the company. Then you can make a connection about what your experience, how does that connect with the mission and the values that that company has.

And that is very helpful because it will show that you actually did your homework and know about the company and that you you’re qualified for it.

Robin: Good. Have you found it really weird or strange or difficult?

Gabriel: I would say difficult. It’s just, for me, it’s a little awkward. I prefer that would be in person, but at the same time, I’ve adapted to it. So by now I’m used to it, but at the beginning it was definitely a little awkward, especially those, those interviews that are the ones that you record yourself. You’re not actually Zooming with someone.

Robin: I’ve seen those. That’s gotta be a weird experience, right?

Gabriel: It’s weird because you have to find a way to focus on the camera and not look anywhere else. That’s a little difficult when you have nobody there, but just yourself.

Robin: Resumes are always evolving. And so when when you’re going through that application process, we’d love to hear your perspective, Beth, on what does comprise a good resume?

Beth: It needs to be readable, short, simple and honest. When you’re writing your resume or updating your resume and submitting it for a particular position, you want to keep in mind, what is it that they want to see right away?

So how you order your resume, how you format your resume, all of those different components are what are going to make those pieces stand out. But it needs to be quickly readable and stand out. The other thing I would say is make sure your resume is up to date and that you regularly update it.

Honestly my recommendation for everyone is to have a professional look at your resume before you submit it. There are lots of templates out there. You can just go grab and fill in. But professionals who do that for a living basically sort of know what’s going to help your resume to stand out.

But then they’re also going to make sure that there aren’t typos and pieces that maybe aren’t as professional as they could be. And that makes a really big difference when the resume’s done.

Robin: I was studying my Bible Lesson this morning, and the story that stood out to me as it related to our conversation today, is when Elijah asks a certain woman in 2nd Kings, he said, well, what do you have in the house?

And she said to him, well, I got nothing. All I have are a bunch of empty vessels. And I think sometimes that’s the feeling when people are looking at different job opportunities and they look at something and they see a job that they think they might be able to qualify for, but yet, the work that they did that might apply to that job was 10 years ago, or 15 years ago.

The question came to me, how do they, if they find that job and they think they have the qualifications for that, but it was a long time ago, what’s the best way to present those qualifications in that situation?

Beth: There’s a couple of different ways. One is, you’re traditionally taught on the resume to put your experience by years, and in what order, that way, but you can also put it in order in terms of how it relates to the work that you’re applying for.

Another way that would be useful is if you’re submitting a cover letter for a particular position, and to be able to elaborate on that experience that you had 10 years ago, and find a way to show how you’ve progressed in that way, even though you’ve maybe moved into different work, but how that was a launching pad to something else or how that skillset continued to evolve in different ways.

So that cover letter is another key point to bring the attention to that work you previously may have done.

Robin: How do I write a cover letter that stands out? What are you looking for that’s different from a resume? How do you use a cover letter as you’re trying to apply for a job? What’s the meaning of it, and how do I make it effective?

Beth: Sometimes I’ll get really readable resumes and there may be some obvious pieces where their skillset or their education matches what we’re needing, but I can’t really figure out from the resume why they’re interested in the position, and what makes them unique, and what they would bring to the position.

So that cover letter sort of answers the why, why are you interested? Why are you the best fit? What qualities do you bring? Why your particular combination of job experience would benefit maybe this position that has nothing to do, frankly, with what you’ve done previously.

Sometimes you can tie it all together and make someone see, oh, that experience actually really is relevant to this work here. And that’s why. This is why.

Robin: How long should the cover letter be?

Beth: It really shouldn’t be more than a page.

Robin: Have someone take a look at it, read over it, make sure that that you’re getting the message, the ideas that you want out of it, right?

Beth: Yes, and oftentimes you can sort of get a sense of someone’s qualities or personality through that letter in terms of how it’s written. So I think writing with a sense of honesty and genuineness is also important.

Robin: We talked about the application process and specific skillset to kind of get through phase one. What do you mean by that?

Beth: When you fill out an application, you should always submit the resume. I mean, we do get applications more than I’d like to say, without a resume. And even without a cover letter.

An absolute must is making sure you include the resume, because if you just submit an application, it really doesn’t tell the hiring or recruiter person who you are, what you have to offer. You’re checking boxes and moving through.

But if you take the time to include the resume and include a cover letter, that’s sort of your first phase, that’s your first step in. And then you have to have a plan for how you’re going to get through to that next phase.

Those first impressions are what are important to the process. And then you have a plan for continuing through.

Robin: Let’s talk about interviewing, and when you talk about answering questions succinctly, what do you mean by that?

Beth: You want to be clear and honest. So when you’re answering questions succinctly, it needs to be obvious. If it’s a resume, and you’re listing out the work that you performed on a particular position, sometimes the language and terminology that’s used, or if it’s too long… I get resumes, and I think I have no idea what this person did or is doing. Right. So how do you make it clear and simple to understand what they’ve done and how it relates to what they would like to do or apply for it?

Robin: If I’m sitting in Gabriel’s position, and he’s looking for a job, and you get to the interview portion where I’m supposed to ask some questions, what kind of questions should I be asking?

Beth: Questions that show that you’re honest are actually helpful. So if you don’t fully understand maybe what the job entails or certain components of the job description, it doesn’t concern me that you you don’t, in fact, it makes me happy to see that someone’s asking a question because I can see that they’re interested and honest and want to get a good read on what they’re applying for or what they’re in for, in terms of the position.

Robin: That’s really helpful. So Gabe, as you’re sitting here listening to Beth, your boss, describe all these things, what are some of the thoughts that you have as you think about the interviewing process and some of the applications that you’ve had to fill out?

What are your thoughts?

Gabriel: That last part of asking the question, one thing that I always asked about the culture of the team that I’ll be working with, how’s the people, how’s the day-to-day work and, and the different things about the company.

Robin: What are the kinds of things you should be doing as a student? I mean, you’re a senior, you’re kind of on the very end of your experience at a college and university and you came up with some ideas and some thoughts about what you tell others, if they were, if you were starting again and kind of start from the beginning or you’re having a conversation with a new freshmen.

So tell me a little bit about some of the things that we’ve listed here on this slide.

Gabriel: So the first thing I would say to a freshman would be to get a job somewhere so they can learn some helpful skills. I think when we talked before, I talked about how it doesn’t matter where you work, you’re always going to learn a small thing, a small skill that will be helpful for the rest of your life. When I got to Prin, I worked every position that you could think of. I did the kitchen, I did lifeguard, I worked at the college store as a cashier, I worked at the pub. I did all these different jobs.

Of course I didn’t love all of them. Some of them I hated, but I was just doing just to do it. But that was skills, the time management, of being able to work so many hours in a week and manage school and sports as well.

Robin: Yeah, because you’re, you’re an athlete as well, right?

Gabriel: Yeah. I’ve done soccer for the past four years and I’m doing track and field this semester. So yeah. It’s just being able to manage your time because the school is not the easiest thing. And if you’re working on top of it, makes it a little more, a little harder.

But if you’re able to handle that, once you get out there after you graduate, working a full day would be much easier than if you never worked and went to school at the same time.

It also depends on the jobs that you get. For me, I got a job at the HR office, so that has helped me, with my professional skills. And so after a few years of working, all these different positions, I would to suggest for you to try to get a job in an office or a career that you could see yourself in.

So we can have that professional skills throughout, those last few years of college. And so, and on top of that, of course, if you’re able to get internships over the summer or over winter break, that’s something that’s very helpful for you as a student, because you’re going to be able to connect with people and , learn professional skills that you don’t learn while you’re in classes.

Robin: Anything you’d like to add to that, Beth?

Beth: I was just thinking I was hesitating. Should I interrupt in Japan? Because everything Gabriel is saying is true, but he’s learning on the job. It’s part of his learning experience. And so in terms of prioritizing your time, not just time management, but prioritizing your time.

All of that willingness and openness that he’s expressed for taking on whatever the job was in front of him. Maybe he didn’t love it. Maybe he’s ended up loving it.

Down the road, there’ll be something in what he’s learned that, will relate to a career or a position for him that he does become interested in.

Maybe he didn’t love working let’s say, in the kitchen, but maybe there were some significant, time demand, time management skills that he learned by being in there that would apply to a different field. So he’s got that under his belt and he’s learning and got the experiences that could come in handy down the road.

Robin: And those are things that, a student, or even if you’re you’re out there and you’re working and you may be in a job that, like you said, you don’t really like, or maybe you don’t even value, there are still things there that are positively impacting your career professional track that you can pull from, right?

Beth: Absolutely. I’ve actually been been in HR at Principia for quite a long time now, basically most of my adult career, but I started working when I was really young, as soon as I could. I think I started babysitting maybe at 10, something like that, but I always was working and finding jobs. I can think back to all of that experience and how it applies to what I’m doing now, or if I wanted to switch careers, I sold mistletoe on the corner as a kid and learned how to be an entrepreneur and how to sell things.

All sorts of experiences. If you’re just willing and open, can certainly lend themselves. I wouldn’t put that on my resume necessarily.

Robin: I wanted to highlight a couple things here – you have a number of job opportunities listed at Principia College and we’d love to be able to feature those and highlight and find people out there that are qualified candidates. And if you know somebody let’s talk a little bit about how you’re filling these current positions.

I’ve got some specific questions that that I run across in my role.

I talk to a lot of people and sometimes people are looking for jobs and I’ll say, well have you thought about this opportunity, or have you thought about education? Have you thought about, Principia?

I had a conversation with someone recently, and they had this incredible resume, and I knew some of the job postings that you had.

How does someone that’s out there, who has a wonderful treasure trove of experience, but none of it related to education?

Beth: Good question. So the one thing I’ll point out if you’re looking at the list here, you’ll see that it’s not just faculty positions, right? So we have campus security officers.

I think when people are looking for jobs and maybe you do know about Principia, you’re not necessarily thinking campus security.

But there are so many different types of jobs and you won’t see here for instance, but our business office, we have accountants, we have marketing folks. We have all sorts of other positions. It’s not just educators.

And then if you look at our faculty list and I’ll what I’ll say now is we’re preparing to pull our faculty posts. But this’ll give you an idea, just a sampling of what’s out there, and maybe there’s a dance professional out in the field, but has never thought about teaching dance in the higher ed environment.

There are many faculty that we hire in who haven’t perhaps had teaching experience yet. And we provide professional development for that. We have support services, but if you bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from certain fields, that certainly can lend itself to even teaching actually.

Robin: One of the articles I read this morning from the Wall Street Journal was how companies are re-imagining the office, and the overall work environment. How’s Principia addressing that?

Beth: We’ve always had sort of a traditional nine to five office environment. But it’s unique and it’s a wonderful place to work. It’s beautiful. Typically everyone has an individual office. It’s not like going to work for corporate America, downtown cubicles everywhere, you know? So it’s a really lovely environment to work in even just to go walk outside.

Those of you who have been here, Robin, I know you’ve been here. You walk out and you’re on the bluffs of the Mississippi river.

There’s lots of opportunity for refreshment and community and engagement even. But as far as the last year with the pandemic, we have shifted to a lot of remote working, but because of our environment and the in-person learning that the students are here for we’re actually doing our best to get back to as much in person as possible.

Robin: Gabriel, how are you finding it? You’re an employee, and you’re working as a student. How have you found the, the work environment there?

Gabriel: It has definitely changed since the pandemic started. In our office, I think we’ve been very good with it. Beth and Lauren have allowed me to work remote as a student worker. And that has helped me because I wouldn’t be able to stay on campus. And so I’m able to , still continue to learn HR and go to school. It’s been definitely different, but good overall.

Robin: So as you move forward, how do you see the future in terms of the hiring process, and what’s the future of HR like? Beth, is it going to remain in the same way? Is it a viable and continue to be a viable career track?

Beth: I’ve heard both sides. But I do think it’s always going to be viable as long as we have human beings. There are always services and support needed for people and resources needed for people. And in fact anytime I have a conversation with individuals who are trying to find, find their career path that maybe they’re more interested in sort of an office setting, and maybe they’ve got some accounting background, I’ve said, have you thought about human resources?

Almost every company needs some kind of human resources help. Really small companies can’t always afford to have a human resources department, but they certainly have positions with those functions.

So I do think it will always be viable, but the way we do our work will always be shifting particularly with technology. It’s very data-driven. And yes. So it will always be shifting. You have to be prepared to work with data and technology, but I do think HR will always be around.

Robin: So what about higher ed education? How’s that going to change? What kind of skills do I need in order to adapt to the future of what education may look like?

Beth: That’s a big open-ended question. I think that’s what all universities and smaller colleges are really actually struggling with and learning through.

And this last year has really put it out there on the table to try to answer that question. I think that each university and each college has its own sort of niche that they fulfill.

For instance, Principia College has this really wonderful, enriching, residential on site, in person learning environment that I think really makes Principia stand out.

So we’re grappling with that, but I certainly think there will be some adapting and shifting that takes place. I think many of us don’t quite know yet what that will look like.

Robin: I really appreciate the honesty and the openness of what you guys have been participating in and willing to share these ideas with me and with all of us.

Gabriel, what are you looking at? Do you see yourself in an HR role? Do you see yourself moving into something else now that you’ve kind of gotten your feet really wet?

Gabriel: I’ve been really liking working with the HR department of Prin and that’s the career that I want to go on after I graduate. And I even applied for grad school, a master’s program in HR, and I got accepted into two places and then try and figure out what’s going to be the next big, step in my life.

But that’s the career that I want to go into, for sure.

Robin: Great! Well, in closing, are there any other thoughts or ideas that Beth you’d like to share?

Beth: It’s not always pleasant or sometimes it can be at least difficult of a prospect to think about having to find a new job. And I hear from plenty of people, trying to find the job it’s daunting. It’s, there’s sometimes fear involved. But again, reflecting back and actually what you opened with in terms of casting your net on the right side, I think is really the most pertinent state of thought to really get to and eliminating that fear of supply. And I can look back in my experience.

if you can get to that point of certainty that, you know again, I had some, some trials in our, within our family in terms of supply when I was very young.

Well, I guess as I was starting to work. And that’s what I really learned at a very young age was how God was supplying everything that we needed. And so I was able to sort of eliminate that sense of fear all the way through my adulthood in terms of finding career and jobs and whatnot. So if you can get to that point, you’re good.

Robin: How about you, Gabe?

Gabriel: For me as a student, if you’re a student just keep on going, because it’s just the start of our lives of our career. So just don’t get discouraged if you hear a no as an international student, I would say it’s a little harder to find a job here and I’ve heard a lot of no’s before, so, and I’m still happy and still try and not gonna give up that easy.

Robin: Your comments have been wonderful today and everyone is just really pleased with the honesty and the effort that you both have given here today.

In closing, we’ve all talked about networking. Well, the ABF Career Alliance is a wonderful place to meet people like Beth and Gabriel.

We offer one-to-one career connections with informational interviews. We post jobs, as we mentioned, all the jobs that Beth talked about earlier. Gabriel’s constantly posting jobs to the Career Alliance. We’ve had 10 or 15 new this past week internships and externships.

So go to ABFCareerAlliance.org, and you’ll find lots of resources and opportunities for career development. If you’re interested in connecting with Beth and Gabriel I’ve posted their career connection, and all you gotta do is go to ABFCareerAlliance.org and you’ll see our Twitter feed on the right side of each page and click the link and I’ll help facilitate that and get you connected with Gabe and Beth, we would love to help you do that.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, like us on LinkedIn. What wonderful, wonderful guests. You guys have been fabulous today. You definitely helped us think about where to cast that net. Given us some really good ideas about how to do that and putting it in the right place.

I just want to thank you so very much for your time and your willingness to share with everyone today.

Beth: Thank you, Robin. And I’d really like to thank you, and the Albert Baker Fund Career Alliance. We do post all of our jobs there, and I think the work that they’re doing out in the field is just really critical and they’re doing great work, so thank you.

Robin: You’re so welcome. If, if anyone has any questions, you can email me at robin@albertbakerfund.org. I’ll get to you just as quick as I can. I promise you I will respond.

Thank you both again, had a terrific time. The next episode, real special. We’re going to have. Christian Science camp, counselor, staff, and alumni.

We’re going to talk about how their experience at camp has transferred into their professional life. So it’s going to be a round table, will be lots of exciting, fun, ideas that we’re going to share. Can’t wait to see you all next week. Thanks again, guys! Look forward to talking with both of you soon and have a great weekend.

“I feel so blessed to witness the transformation of people.”

About Our Speaker:
Lamech Katamba, ABF’s Africa Programs Manager since 2009, is a living testament to The Albert Baker Fund’s core value of “passing your blessings forward.” He grew up in the small Africa village of Kyamulinga, where he developed his passion for education, entrepreneurship, and community, and where he returned to play an instrumental role in starting the Kyamulinga Primary School that serves 230 children.

Today, Lamech lives in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda where he is active in the Christian Science Society.

Lamech’s career journey has been a remarkable expression of living the Christ and sharing what he has learned from his study of Christian Science far and wide.

As manager of ABF’s scholarship programs in13 African countries, Lamech says his “biggest joy and gratification comes from having the privilege of witnessing how ABF students are making huge impacts in their communities, countries, and Africa at-large.”

Lamech has a BA in Development Studies, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Micro-Finance from Makerere University, where he helped to establish a Christian Science Organization as a student. He serves on the Advisory Board of Asante Africa Foundation, a nonprofit that works with primary and secondary schools in rural Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda; and the board of Singo Vocational Institute in Kyamulinga. He also serves on the board of the Three Rivers Academy, an International Secondary School in Kenya, sponsored by E3Schools.org

Lamech is married to Joy Katamba, an architect and interior designer, and also an ABF beneficiary. They are blessed with two-year old triplets, two girls and a boy.

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Transcript of episode

Robin: This is the Net Effect, and I am your host Robin Jones, director of the ABF Career Alliance. Our special guest today is Lamech Katamba. Lamech is from Kampala, Uganda, and he is one of our very own, we are so excited to have him.

He is the manager of our Africa programs. Welcome Lamech.

Lamech: Thank you. Thank you, Robin.

Robin: This has been so much fun getting to know you and being able to learn about your journey and your incredible work that you do on a day-to-day basis.

So Lamech tell us a little bit about yourself and where you’re from.

Lamech: Thank you. Thank you Robin. I grew up from a very small village found in Bukuya County in Kasanda District central Uganda.

Robin: And this is your village, your house right here, isn’t it?

Yeah, you’re right.

That’s so fun, Lamech.

Lamech: It looks like it’s in the middle of nowhere.

Robin: Right? Right. That’s kinda like how I grew up in a small town but not a village. . So I, I thought we’d start off with this picture. Tell us about this picture Lamech and why this is so important to you and, and how it’s kind of shaped your future.

Lamech: Well, that is actually my dad and that little man there is standing with dad is   Lamech

So my dad was a farmer. He used to grow coffee and banana, but also use to make local beer for commercial purposes. He used to sell a beer, but on the special days, like Christmas and Easter, he used to give away beer for free. So villagers and many other people used to come home to celebrate Christmas or Easter or any other special days.

And among the people used to come home were also my teachers from my primary school. So every time they come home and drink and got drunk that they used to beat drums, you know, get happy. And I was the dancer cause I used to be a very good dancer and every time I dance, they used to give money.

That was the same money we used to pay for school fees. During that time, that’s when the teachers also put to give reports, nice reports about me from school, how I used to pass very well and also how I used to do very good in sports. So the teacher has really made my village mates to like me a lot.

I was a kid of the village.

Robin: Oh, that’s so fun. And this is actually the school that you went to when you were a little guy, when you were doing that, making those impressive dance moves to all your teachers, right?

Lamech: Yeah, that’s my school. It’s called Makonzi Charter of Uganda primary school.

It was about five kilometers from my home. And I used to just walk to my home. And actually there was an incident. One day I was walking together with the rest of the kids from the village, walking towards school, and something happened. That was a man who jumped from the forest and wanted to grab me.

And I ran towards school, but the rest of the kids ran back to the village. I think this man must have thought it was easier to chase after me who was alone than chasing the rest of the kids. But what he didn’t know is that I was actually the fastest. I used to win a lot of awards and medals for the school because of my fast running.

I used to do a hundred meters split, so he couldn’t catch me. But I remember when I was about to reach school running, I looked behind and I saw the man who was actually coming very fast and I was getting tired, but I realized it was actually the bag, the school bag, which was making me slow down. So I decided to throw away the school bag, and then, yeah, that freed me.

And I ran faster until I reached school. Kids and teachers were surrounding me and some were actually crying. I found out later why they were crying. They said, when they ran back to the village, they got their parents to escort them to school.

And when they are coming there, they saw my bag, which I had thrown away. So they thought Lamech had been taken maybe. So when they saw me later at school, still alive, they were so happy. So it was tears of joy. And so at that moment, the teachers decided to move me away from the village.

Robin: That was really an impactful moment and a time in your life, huh?

Lamech: Yeah, because it actually changed everything, because even my grades started improving because when you tell me where to stay. Yup. And as I teach has bought me books as a teacher, almost every teacher was contributing something because, you know, they really liked me because I used to win for them a lot of awards and       I was a good kid in class. So this helped me out a lot. And my teacher has promised to me that if I ever pass in a grade one, they will take me to Kampala, which is the capital city, and I’d never been there. So I worked for that. And indeed I passed the grade one, which was a history in the history of the school.

It was the first time for a kid to pass in a grade one. So they asked me, do you have any relative in the city? Because they couldn’t afford tuition and those accommodations. So I said yes, I had a sister who was staying in Kampala in a place called Kauempe and so they brought me to my sister’s place and they took me to Kauempe secondary school.

So now I was really happy and excited. What was very interesting is that the walking didn’t stop. In the village I used to make it 10 kilometers a day. And when they brought me to the city, it became almost 16 because I used to make eight kilometers one way and then another eight kilometers back.

What was very exciting or what was different is that this time I had shoes. They had gotten me my first pair of shoes. And I was so excited to put on shoes. The unfortunate part was that these shoes were plastic. They were plastic shoes from China. And every time I would walk in during the day when it is hot, there could almost melt, and burn my feet, but I never wanted to remove them because I was so excited to put on shoes.

Robin: And how old were you when you moved from the village?

Lamech: I was turning 14. Yes. I was nervous because these kids in the city were all speaking English, good English, and I was the only person who didn’t know how to speak English. Because in my village, the school there, even the teachers, some teachers didn’t know how to speak good English. So they preferred to teach us in, in local language Luganda. So the thing, which helped me a lot, was at my new school in the city, they were teaching French, and French was a new language to all the kids including the Kampala kids.

So I knew that all of us were new to French. I decided to concentrate on French and I passed it very well, so that earned me a lot of friends, because a lot of my classmates used to come to me for help in French. And also I passed my maths very well. So that also brought me out a lot of friends and yeah, it started calming me down a little bit and that I could use to do with it.

Robin: What religion did you grow up in? What was your faith and your background at that time in your life?

Lamech: In my village, I was raised up as an Anglican Protestant and yeah, it’s, it’s very interesting that even when I was a kid, I never really enjoyed the being preached at because you know, sometimes you could see the priests in the village doing something different from what they were preaching.

So that alone made me not enjoy being preached that. When I got a chance to go to the city, I felt a little bit more free from my parents’ protection. I wanted to explore more. So I started visiting different churches, Catholic churches, Pentecostal churches, even mosques.

And that’s how I actually ended up going into the Christian Science church. I found something different, in the Christian Science church and that attracted me a lot.

Robin: How did you learn about Christian Science?

Lamech: I remember, I just completed in my ordinary level. In Uganda, secondary school is divided into two sections. The first four years is called the ordinary level. And then the second two years is called the advanced it’s what you call a high school in the U.S. So after my ordinary level, I was in a holiday and I decided to escort my friend, Luke, his uncle big Scruffy’s and what, I didn’t know that his uncle was a Christian Scientist.

So they were in another room talking about their business. I was remaining alone in the sitting room and I saw these little Sentinels. Do you remember this smaller type? Yes. So I picked it, I started reading it and when the uncle came back in the sitting room, I kind of irritated put it back because I had not asked for permission, but then get someone to say, Oh, don’t worry.

You can have, you can have it. If you want more, I can give you more. So he gave me about 40 Sentinels, and I took them home. I read them from cover to cover. And one thing I was realizing, or what I discovered is that almost all the testimonies in these Sentinels, the were all referring to Science and Health, and I didn’t know what Science and Health was.

So I brought the Sentinels back to this gentleman.   First of all, I thought they weren’t for keeps, so I was returning them after using them, but also, I wanted to ask him about Science and Health, and where that was a dictionary. So the gentleman who was so happy to tell me more about Science and Health.

So he brought me a set of books. Now, you remember, I only asked for Science and Health, but at this time he came with this set of books, that was Science and Health and the Bible. And he told me these are; the books were used in our chat. And if you want, you can actually come and visit our church. I was of course, very excited and the following week had to go there.

I found only three people sitting in the hallway and I thought maybe I was late. So I excused myself. I said, I’m so sorry. I’m late. They said, no, no, no. So they said, okay. I said to them, can we enter? Where are the rest? They said, we are the only people. And to me to look, it’s so different. And this, when I said, can we enter?

Then they said, no, no, no, we are doing it here in the hallway. So there was no room for them. And it was that’s where we did church in the hallway and they never had any Quarterly. They would just open it randomly and read. And I actually thought that was the way to do the service. Until when one visitor, Dr. Nancy Dorsey from the U S. came to visit our church and she picked interest in me and she actually disclosed it to me that there was a better way to hold services.

She talked to me about many other Manual- based church activities. So for me, I was now very happy to have someone who knew more about Christian Science, because originally I was the one trying to study and answer all the questions.

I was talking to my friends, I was sharing about Christian Science, and everything I was discovering and applying and getting the results. I was sharing them with my friends and everyone was getting excited and interested and the more they were getting interested, the more I was yearning to share with them. And remember, what I didn’t tell you actually is that I used to be a very shy, when I was growing up, and this sharing of Christian Science, of the truths which I was learning, actually helped me and helped me to overcome the shyness. Yeah.

Robin: One of the things that strikes me is your willingness to share, but also the lack of fear that, oh, there’s only a few people, you know, no big deal. How did, as you began to learn and practice and, and discover, what changed? What was it besides the shyness? What did you see happening in your life?

Lamech: Well, a lot of things actually changed in my life. First of all, the way I was seeing the world. For example, I remember when I was growing up in my village, in my church, they really never talked about healing.

I remember when I was growing up in my village and somebody was very sick in my village. That is when they would call in a priest to come and pray for that person to go to heaven, if he or she dies. And no one ever talked about healing or praying for somebody to be healed. And now here I was reading about how people are applying a way of praying and getting healed.

So to me, that was very unique. And also I remember Yeah. I remember when yeah, I’m trying to remember something. Yes. Yes. I discovered that you can actually pray naturally and talk to your good which was not without a mediator. Unlike where I was raised. It w every time you had the problem, you had to go to the priest and they pray.

They prayed the prayer for you. And here I was doing it, myself, and also another thing, which struck me, was the difference between heaven and hell. In my original   region, I used to know that heaven is somewhere up there where you can only reach after death. And here in Science and Health, we’re talking about heaven and hell, right here.

You can actually choose to be in heaven or hell right here. So those, those where I really saw a different to me to make me actually make an opinion. But so this, everything that I was discovering, I wanted to share it. And it was creating a lot of questions. You know, people, the one I was talking to, they were asking me more questions and it caused me to study more so that I don’t look a fool.

I wanted to be able to answer all the questions. So I think that must have also encouraged my study of Christian Science.

Robin: Well, you really had a turning point, as you were moving through your education, when you had a trip to Boston. Tell us a little bit about how that impacted your career or your educational journey at this point.

Lamech: Well, yeah, first of all, it was a very big opportunity. This is something, this was a big dream to travel to the U. S. was really a very big opportunity for me and changed everything almost because I remember before traveling to the U.S., I had plans to join Principia College. I had actually tried to apply, and the application process was going on well.

When I reached Boston, I remember I was sitting in the Mother Church. And then I was sitting here to this next, to this young lady called Meredith. And she looked at my nametag, and said, “Are you from Uganda?” I said, yes. She said, “I think I know you.”

And I said, no way, you, you can’t know me because I don’t even have a relative in the U.S. How do you know me? Then that’s when she told me that she had watched my application. She was, I think, working as an intern, so she had seen my name, and she said she worked on my application, and I’d been actually admitted.

So it was very exciting to know that the process was complete and that had been admitted. But now, when we were doing some of the sessions that the Mother Church, I came across the word, the CSO, then what I discussing about CSO’s. And I was asking them, what was it? So they told him that there were student organizations at colleges and universities and they talked about, all what they do.

And it was very exciting. So I wanted to know how do people create CSOs? Then they say, if only one individual, even if you are one at your university, you can actually start one. And because I’d never heard about CSOs in my country, I said, I want to do this in my country.

So when I came back to Uganda, I decided to cancel my application to Principia and applied, to go to Macquarie University so that I can start this CSO there. Now this was when I shared this with my friend, Dr. Nancy, she wasn’t   about, cause at Principia you had the scholarship and I actually had taken it for granted. I had assumed that because she had helped   me in my last year, final year at the high school, she was not going to help me at the university, which wasn’t the case. So, but I did it, I wasn’t so scared because you know, almost all my entire education journey from primary through secondary, people were helping me. Different people, God were using people to help me with my school.

So I knew even here God was going to use someone to help me go to this university. So I continued the praying and believing that someone is going to help me pay for the school fees. And indeed, somebody came up. And this is how it happened. That was a student, a young lady who came to do research in Macquarie University.

I think somewhere, they talked about me and this lady, when she went back to the U. S., she discussed my story with her professor, a professor at MIT. This gentleman offered to pay for my entire tuition at the university without really meeting me. He didn’t even try to contact me, to talk to me. He just offered to pay for my tuition. Now I had to look for where to get my application and meals.

So that’s how I came up with an idea of setting newspapers.

Robin: So you had your school taken care of, right. But yet you still had to find a way to live. You had to make a living. Right. So I can see how your entrepreneurial spirit began to thrive and flourish, right?

Lamech: Yeah. And the two are so natural because I don’t remember really trying hard, but everything was just working out so naturally.

So I came up with this idea of setting newspapers, to professors at the university, and some students who can afford them. I could wake up in the morning, pick the papers from the suppliers and then slide the papers under the doors of the homes of the professors. So that by the time they wake up, their papers are right there. And I had this policy, I was not asking for money right there. I waited until the end of the month. And then it gives them a beer, an invoice, and the professors really loved it so much. And I worked like that for about three years in my entire university. Now I also have had to share with you that when I visited the U.S., I met many, many friends.

I met many   friends from all over the world. People from different countries in Africa, from Asia, from Canada, from everywhere. And they were all great people. And among all of these people whom I met and made friends with that was a special person called David Maxwell, who was a student at the University of Texas. He is currently working with Texas Instruments. And he came to visit me in Uganda the following year in 1999. And he brought me my first computer.

Robin: Oh, wow.

This was so exciting because you know; I’d never even used the computer now to get one of my own was a big thing. I remember before he came to bring me a computer, we used to just write through post office. It could take a month for my letter to return and another month to receive his response until when Dr. Nancy allowed me to use her personal email address. She could allow me to type in her computer in her email inbox. And yeah, that’s how we used to communicate. David brought me a computer and it was so exciting and I taught myself how to use the computer and Pam came. And I said, can I do something more with this computer? And that’s how I came up with an idea of typing my coursework.

How many people had a computer?

Lamech: No one, there was not another student. I was the first one to have a computer in my class, at least.

So when I submitted my work to the professor, he was so happy and actually ordered all the students to type their work because he said I can’t read your handwriting. Most of you write really so badly. So I want to type your coursework like Lamech did. So they ran to different secretaries nearby all around the campus and pay for their work to be typed, but that was a big challenge because you know, the secretaries didn’t know how to keep the time, you know, the deadlines, but also they never knew how to correct the mistakes that students were making. Most of them are mistakes. So this made me to think about, the opportunity   of typing student’s work using my computer

so I went around telling students my friends and my fellow students let’s look here. I can type your work. So I opened up a small shop outside of the campus and I called in people to come bring their coursework to type. I remember typing my first work I was getting from students. They all sat there, I put their bench, they sat there in front of me and they just stared at   me.

And I never, I never really enjoyed it. I never enjoyed being stared at. So I came up with an idea of bringing in Christian Science literature, because I had a lot of Sentinels and Journals at home. So I brought them in so that students could keep themselves busy studying this as I’m typing their work, but it didn’t work because now every student who was reading Christian Science literature, they were asking me questions.

So instead of typing, I was busy answering their questions. And so I had to hire someone now to type their work, as I explained to them, Christian Science. And that is how the Christian Science Reading Room started. So, time came when a lot of students were bringing into their work. And I said, now, how can I also attract other students, who are not bringing in their work?

And that’s when I got an idea of opening up another section in the Reading Room. So I created another alternative library and I went around the university, calling in students to come to this alternative library because, you know, in the university library, there were less books and there were many students. If you wanted a book then, you had to book for about maybe a week in advance.

So I was telling this student that he had, there is another alternative library, which where you can actually get a book without lining up without having to book a week in advance. So a lot of students came for these textbooks. But now that we’re seeing these Christian Science literature, and they were asking questions and, and I was always busy talking to students.

So then, you know, it was exciting to see all these people coming and filling up the entire Reading Room. And then I said, but these are the students. How do I attract in other people who are not students? And that’s how I came up with an idea of bringing in a telephone booth. There were very few people, who had the mobile phones, and even telephone booths were not very common there, you had to go downtown to find one.

So bringing it to your community was the biggest thing. And many people were so happy to, to see this telephone booth. And they used to come in and then to use a phone, but then they see, a lot of people, reading and they were like, what is going on here? They come in. And then we talked to them and the time came when it was always very full.

And it’s brought in people from all walks of life to come and discuss Christian Science.

Robin: Well, it’s just amazing Lamech, to hear you and your enthusiasm and your spirit and see how you were so willing to share. And so unafraid, this shy bashful little boy from the village has turned into this incredibly gregarious spirited, inspiring businessman, while you’re going to school.

It’s really amazing. And then to see how that blessing transformed your life. Tell us a little bit more so let’s, so let’s move forward into graduation time. So you’ve graduated now, and you’ve got a thriving business. So what happens then?

Lamech: Actually, before graduation, there is even something, which I did more, because there were now many students were being exposed to Christian Science and that I was even inviting them to church. Some did actually become church members. I also decided to start a CSO in my university. It wasn’t so easy, but yes, with all the knowledge I was getting, on a daily basis, I was able to overcome all the challenges.

I remember for example, someone asking, why does Christian Science, which I lecture one of the professors and said, well, you know, when they are planning to register a student organization, we have to go through all the money, carry on demonstration. Yes.

And they were asking me whether this wasn’t a cult. And this one professor asked me, how many of you, I mean, are you in charge? I said we’re 20 to 30. And he said, you see, that is a cult. You can’t   be only the 20 people in charge. And I say sir, I don’t think that is that qualifies us to be a cult because if you are saying, we are a cult, because we are few, then it means even the big churches were once a cult, because there is no big church which started big, they all started small.

I knew a cult was something which controls your thinking. And Christian Science was actually the opposite because we don’t even have a preacher. So you read on your own and discover things on your own, which is actually the exact opposite of a cult.

So when I explained this to the professor, he allowed me to register and I was at, I even shared that with one of the Catholic Dean of students. He had given us permission to meet in one of the Catholic student center. So, yeah. And also what I did before graduation is I did some research because I knew that I discovered that that was a lot of ignorance about Christian Science on the campus.

So I wanted to do something which could help people understand more what Christian Science is. So in my final research or thesis, I decided to research or to write about why there is an increase, the number of people moving from the mainstream religion joining the newly introduced study like Christian Science.

So I made sure that in my literature review, I quoted something from Science and Health. And now I knew professors who are going to wonder where to find it, this book. So I made sure I place a copy in all departmental libraries of the university and also in the main library. So that when they see my quotation or citation, they at least know where to get the book.

This actually worked out because this research is one of the projects I passed very well. So when I graduated, my business was running well, the secretarial bureau, turned into a computer teaching institute center. I had made friends with people who graduated in computer science, so I persuaded them to come and teach computer because I bought many other computers and placed them in, in the Reading Room to type people’s work.

But then I was wondering, what do we do with the computers in holidays? So that’s how I came with an idea of teaching computer science, to students in holidays.

And what is interesting, even those who are studying computer science at the university, they could come and practice because at the university we have two computers and the students were many. So sometimes some students were not getting a chance to get hands-on. Practicals. So they came to my business to come and practice what we were learning at the university.

So the business was moving on well, and I decided to add another business there because I really didn’t have yes, I started it a taxi. Yeah.

Robin: You needed something else to do. Cause you weren’t busy enough. Started the CSO doing a research project, running a business, sharing your faith. Not enough, not enough going on, right, Lamech?

Lamech: I kept on thinking, what can I do more? Yeah. So the idea of the taxi came up and of course I love driving. So this could give me a chance to drive. And yes, the taxi business also, I started and was moving on well, but this is also the time when the Mother Church learned about my approach, my new approach of mixing the Reading Room with other businesses and they felt that was a good mode of doing business or, or exposing, you know, bringing the Reading Room to the people instead of waiting for people to come to the Reading Room.

They decided to appoint me as the international coordinator for the sales of Science and Health in East Africa. And this was so exciting for me. And I decided to do a book launch, at the Reading Room, and I remember hiring tents and hiring entertainers, people are beating drums.

And then I, I invited all the media houses in Uganda to come and be present when you are doing a book launch. And actually one of the, the newspaper called the book, the local newspaper. Yeah, mid is they covered us and yeah, it was a big thing. And the Mother Church wanted me to go outside Uganda, share and train other people on how to sell or share Science and Health.

I remember putting in a lot of books in my taxi car and then drive off without even knowing what the exact route to go to Kenya or Tanzania. But this had up to me because I remember driving in the city in the city and then stop and ask for directions, but also ask whether that is the bookstore and then talk about Science and Health.

I was praying for protection in all of this, you are driving to a new country. You don’t even know the road, the directions. So you had to really rely more on God, God’s protection. And I remember one time I was driving to Mwanza.

The first time I drove to Tanzania and the week I was driving through a national park and I found a roadblock, there were soldiers and they said you can’t drive there because it’s dangerous. But then I told them, I’d driven a very long distance from home, and I was nearing my destination, so I couldn’t stop there.

So they were so nice. I talk to them nicely and I shared with them about Christian Science and Science and Health and I even gave them two free copies of Science and Health. So they were so happy and they gave me an escort, a policeman with a gun to drive with me through the park. And this man, we went on talking and discussing about all the good ideas I was discovering in Christian Science and he was so much interested.

So when he reached into Mwanza, he said, I’m going to help you even look for a safe hotel. And he actually went ahead and looked for me, booked for me a nice hotel where I started making now contacts. So to the Christian Scientist in Mwanza, I called the number which I found in the Christian Science Journal, but it wasn’t working.

I decided to write to them on the email and I checked, they were not answering my email. I stayed there for two days and I wrote about three different emails and they were not responding. So I decided to leave Mwanza and then continue to Nairobi in another country, Kenya. So when I asked about the direction to Nairobi, they showed me, it was actually on the opposite direction of where I was staying.

So I decided to change my hotel and then go stay in their direction, find another hotel. So that’s what I did. And as I was driving and looking for a hotel, I saw a signpost of a hotel and I said, okay, I’m going to stay in this one. I kept on following the signposts and twas leading me off the road.

And this is not what I wanted to do really, because I wanted to be on the main road. But the signs were taking me to the deeper, deeper inside. But anyway, I decided to book in and when I start checking in into a new hotel, I went back and wrote another email from the internet cafe, telling them, the Christian Scientist in Mwanza that I have changed my hotel from the first one to now a new one.

This is when they also checked the email. They checked the email and what was very interesting is the new hotel where I had checked in was just separating walls, perimeter walls, with the church in Mwanza, Christian Science   church.

So they came running to my hotel and they said, how did you discover us? How did he know that we are staying here? I say that well, they said they showed me the church and I couldn’t believe. So I knew to us now, God is work. And this, it charged me more. I felt like a brand new battery. I felt now I have more reason now to do what I was doing.

And I, because I knew God was on my side. And so that was a good experience for me during this work for Science and Health, selling Science and Health in East Africa.

Robin: You know, what’s interesting Lamech, cause I’m often asked about how do I get experience, and how do I learn about this and how do I learn about that? We’re always talking about volunteering. If you can’t find something to get paid, are you willing to work, to learn, are you willing to give back, are you willing to volunteer so that in that place that you want to ultimately get to, are you willing to do that?

Your willingness to jump in, cause I know you had your businesses back home that are helping support you, that this activity was really from the goodness of your heart, right?

Lamech: Yeah, it’s really been interesting. I think my passion to do volunteer work is just natural because I did many other things on a voluntary basis.

After I started working for the Mother Church, I also worked with the Principle Foundation, which is found in Kansas City. They had a program in Uganda, called the Uganda Project, and they were helping kids in both primary and secondary institution. And I was their facilitator. I was doing voluntary work as a volunteer.

When I finished that, that’s well that’s, that is how actually ABF also contacted me, made contacts with me. And I volunteered. Yes. Yes. The Albert Baker Fund wanted to expand to Africa. They contacted me towards the end of 2003, but we really started working in 2004 and I volunteered to work as a representative of ABF in Africa for five years.

They hired me in 2009. So volunteering is no problem with me. The main force, which drives me, is the fact that I was helped in almost my entire education journey. People helped me in my primary school. People helped me in my secondary school, even at the university.

So I decided, I promised myself that if I start working and earning something, I’m going to do the same.

I’m going to be helping people to access it. So when ABF came in and contacted me, I was very happy because I knew it was going to help me achieve my dream, fulfill my dream of helping people, access education without actually much struggle because again I was thinking I was going to make money and then pay it to my set up from my pocket.

But now ABF is here, wanting to pay for students just with my support. So that, that pushed me to work all those years as a volunteer. But you see what is interesting even after being hired in 2009, I still didn’t give up. As I continued doing volunteer work with other organizations. For example, I volunteer, I still volunteer with Santi Africa Foundation and nonprofit organization, which helps students in primary and secondary in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

I’m also serving on the board of the international school called Three Rivers Academy in Kenya. I’m also serving on the board of a vocational training Institute in my village, in my home area called the single vocational Institute. And I’m also a board member or championing a primary school.

So I’m doing all this on a voluntary basis, even when I have a paying job. So to me, anything which has to do with education, that is my passion and that more is I always just do it without even thinking. Yes.

Robin: Well, tell us a little bit about what you do with the Albert Baker Fund?

Lamech: With Albert Baker Fund, I’m working as the African Program Managers and we have operations, or our program is in 13 countries in Africa.

We do work with universities, good universities, in every country to provide assistance, financial assistance to those practicing, active Christian Scientists who are struggling to find tuition. And my role is to actually verify. I work with a team of in country representatives together with an African processing agent to verify that the information given to us by the students and the universities is genuine.

Once we verify and confirm that the information is okay, then we pay for those students. But also my other work is to mentor these students.

So that is my role with ABF and I’ll tell you I’m so happy. And to have this opportunity to work with the Albert Baker Fund because it has exposed me to many interesting things. For example, I think I’m really so blessed. I’ve seen some privilege, privilege, privilege to, to witness transformation of people and, and also to witness the kind of huge impact made by these students.

They do on their communities, in their counties. And Africa is as a whole.

Robin: Let’s talk about this one in particular, because this, this is one of those organizations that you work with and volunteer, and they came to you with a particular help need that involved a hiring process. So tell us how that worked out?

Lamech: I happen to sit on the advisory board of the Three Rivers Academy in Kenya, a new international school, supported by three schools and organization in the U. S. So I was contacted to be among us, the panelists, the people I to interview and hire the, the new principal of this international school.

I was so happy when during the interview to discover that the top, some of the top candidates were actually our former ABF students and the way our PhD, PhD, or DAS. So I was forced to dig more for information. I wanted to go back and see, to learn more about these two specific students.

And that’s when I discovered that they were actually originally former teachers in their local schools and when ABF and expanded it to Africa, people thought that it was only for regular students. But I remember when I traveled to these countries and, and told the people that ABF is not only for regular students, it’s only, it is also for other or the students who had stopped going to school long time ago.

So I encourage people that even if you stopped going to school long time ago, but now you feel that is a special skill, which you can change your life or help you transform other people’s lives. You are welcome to apply. So this is how they applied. And they came to do advanced diplomas in education.

After that, they also came back to do degrees bachelor’s degree in education, and then they came back to do masters in educational management, and then they didn’t stop there. They came back again to do PhDs. So these ladies are now working in two different universities. One is working as a senior manager of the university.

And another one is teaching, is a trainer is a lecturer in a national teacher’s college.

To me, this was so much gratifying to witness the kind of impact, huge impact the ABF is making you know, to this country and what they, they, they, I mean this students and what these students are also passing forward to their communities.

Robin: Well, it doesn’t stop there. This beautiful young lady is also one of those ABF recipients. You mentioned earlier about helping your local community and the school. So tell us about how you and your sweet bride Joy jumped in and really made an impact.

Lamech: Well, because, because, you know I really enjoy doing volunteer work and giving back to the community, passing forward the blessing and use what it for me, anything which I enjoy, I want to share it.

I try to entrust other people to do the same, to do their own work, to do, to give back to the community. And the recently, I was working with my wife, this is my wife Joy.

And I was working with her and I to persuade have other big team of professionals to go to my village and help the two schools, which are there. And so Joy and her team, she, we managed it to do a master plan for these two schools.

Robin: She’s an architect, right?

Lamech: Yes, she does architecture and interior designing.

And we did all this work for free. And you know, this, this is a big team of professionals, engineers, and they all did this work for free because I convinced them to do this because other people were already doing it. I had participated in, in a competition at ATL, a big company.

Yeah. Telephone company in Uganda and the way every other year invite proposals of organizations or over a thousand, right. Over a thousand, a thousand proposals came in his company has over 11 million subscribers. So when they send out anything, many people respond, and so this competition way out of a, I think they were above of a thousand submissions. And they called me. I remember I was living in Nigeria doing ABF work. So I received a call from, from ATL and they said are you Lamech, I said, yes, did you participate? I said, yes. And they said, you have won! We are happy to tell you, we have won, your school has won. And we are going to give you the windows and the doors to your school.

So I was using this experience and the incidents to explain to other professionals that look here, you can do this as a social corporate responsibility. And we have been able to achieve a lot because of this initiative. Yeah. A lot of people now I know jump in to this volunteer business.

Robin: Well, you obviously made a huge impact and that again is in your, in your local community.

You’ve really just such a wonderful example Lamech, of how mentoring and reaching out and, being unafraid to, to share the things that you’re learning and what, you know has just been such a blessing to you and your community.

Begin Q&A

We’re going to go right to the Q and A at this point.

So Lamech, how has casting your net on the right side. And how has it been to be so fearless and casting your net on the right side impacted your life and your journey?

Lamech: Well I would say it has impacted almost my entire life in many ways. For example, I’ve always learned, I’ve learned never to give up. I, I learned this again by studying Christian Science, because this was the motto of Mary Baker, Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, and I’ve learned never to give up.

I don’t give up easily. And even when I try something and doesn’t seem to go the way I intended it to, I don’t take it as it really a failure. I’ve learned to move with things and know that this is God’s plan. So I don’t really see it as a failure. And I’ve also learned how to seek for protection.

I trust God for protections. I take my life. I look at God is Love as a, you know, I always compare it to is the way wax protects the car from the dust. So if you have complete confidence in the truth, which you learn, you will know that you can’t be affected by any harm. So we are always protected and I’ve applied to this in my entire life.

I’ll give you an example because when I was growing up, I used every time I’m moving at night through the forest, going home to the main road, this terrace that you move with a stick, a reed. It protects you. I don’t know how that was true, but what is interesting that even when I had the stick, I was always very scared until when I was exposed to Christian Science, then I knew that actually our protection comes from God.

And that is when I started moving without fear. So that has been actually, that’s a big change from the way you used to see things. So knowing that you are always protected by God is, is, is very, very important in my work. Even when I traveled to countries where I don’t know anybody, we keep expanding, ABF, keeps expanding to other new countries and they I’m always the first person to visit.

And usually what I go to a country when I don’t know anybody, but I’m always very confident that God is going to protect me, is going to show me the right people to talk to. And that has worked for me, very well.

Robin: So we have a question and the question is maybe share an experience or some challenges that you’ve faced during your volunteer work.

Lamech: Sometimes I actually see when I when I’m faced with a challenge, sometimes I celebrate, it’s weird. It’s weird because people are always, they’re at this time when they are faced with challenges, but to me, every time I have a challenge and I see it as an opportunity for me to, to, to, to pray and apply Christian Science.

And every time I solve a problem or a challenge, I celebrate.   I’m like, yes, I know this one. So it is always for me it’s celebration. So I don’t really see it as a challenge. It’s an opportunity for me to celebrate again after solving this

Robin: Lamech, you you’ve been so wonderful and so generous with your willingness to share your thoughts and your journey. It’s a remarkable journey. I can’t wait to share it with those who weren’t able to join us today.

If you’re interested in helping to improve Africa and the lives of Africans, you can go to the Albert Baker Fund website and you will find wonderful information there.

And if you’re a student in Africa, I know we’ve had some that have reached out. Be sure that you check the website and there’s lots of information right there. Lamech, and his team will be happy to help you. If you’re interested in North American programs, you can check the website as well for that.

And. If you are interested in the Career Alliance and connecting with folks like Lamech or career allies, or looking for jobs or looking to connect with one another, go to the ABFcareeralliance.org. If you’re a student or, you know, a student, be sure and share with them about our Brotherly Love scholarships. We are accepting applications for those.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And remember, to cast your net on the right side. We have a stellar example of one who has done that and is doing it. And I can’t wait to hear the new stories and I can’t wait to do Lamech Robin, number two down the road, so we can pick up some of the things that we didn’t get to talk about today.

Lamech: Yes, you’re right. It’s true.

Robin: It was a terrific time and you’re so, so gracious for staying up so late in your neck of the woods with, with those sweet babies, they’re close, I’m sure by the side and until we meet again, my friend and all of you that are out there, thank you for joining us today. In two weeks, we’ll be back with a focus on human resources and how we approach and move through this time with all things that are new. It’ll be exciting show with Beth Trevino. She’s the HR director at Principia College.

Lamech love you, man. Thanks so much.

Lamech: Thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure.

Robin: Look forward to seeing you soon.

Lamech: All right. Bye bye and greetings to everyone.

Robin: You too, brother.

Topic: “The changing needs of students, distance learning, and how ABF is helping students navigate through these challenging times”

About Our Speaker:
Dr. Ritter is an accomplished college educator and administrator with extensive experience developing innovative programs and services for students. He is well-known to the Christian Science community through his 23-year career at Principia College, where he held a variety of positions, from Professor of Chemistry to Provost, and Dean of Academics. Most recently he was Founding Dean of the College of Individual and Community Health at Bemidji State University (BSU) in northern Minnesota.

Dr. Ritter earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Delaware; and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware.

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