Onesmus Embula
WINDHOEK – Lover of life Mavis Elias, 25, a civil engineer by profession, poet and master of ceremonies by night is adamant on living a life that touches the lives of others.
Elias grew up in Namibia in various towns in the far north of the country – in Ongwediva, and then in the opposite direction all the way to the southern bottom edge of the country in Oranjemund. “I grew up riddled with versatility, a trait that only recently started to need taming. But growing up I had my hands in many things, from debating, history societies, science fairs, netball and soccer,” she says. Among other achievements, she has been recognised as the Vivid Philanthropist of the year 2015 and Queens Young Leader 2018.
She looks at life through the lens of “it starts with you”. “I am motivated by the strides feminism has made. It took a Harriet Tubman freeing slaves, Margaret Thatcher sitting as prime minister of the United Kingdom and Sahle-Work Zewde sitting as the first female president of Ethiopia,” says Elias. Adding “it is the breaking of glass ceilings of these women who show us, the girl child, that it is possible.” Moreover, she states that being multi-versatile allows her to work on a variety of projects and be able to perceive a vision for each without limiting her abilities. “I do not perceive myself to stand out amongst my peers, because it would depict competitiveness, which is something I have actively worked towards unlearning. We teach girls to be each other’s competition, when we are supposed to teach girls to build one another and propel each other forward,” she remarks.
A career in engineering was inspired by her analytical thinking, hence she desired something to challenge her cognitive abilities. “This is because I have a true passion for complex thinking and project management and execution. I am of the opinion that engineering gives one a rare thinking capability in any given situation,” she notes. However she adds that the corporate world has been challenging but maintains that she had encountered every difficult situation with a sober mind, and a learning mentality. “I have adapted an ability to be flexible and optimise every opportunity to become a better version of myself. There is no such thing as failure, only teaching moments,” she says.
Elias encourages youngsters to dream and do it. “There is no harm in dreaming, if anything I encourage it,” she motivates, stating one should cross the bridge from dreaming to working towards achieving the set goals. “No time spent on self-improvement is ever wasted. Self-awareness should always be your priority, because it is in that that you are able to achieve, conquer and succeed.”