Following Your Passion with Nonye Ujam

Nonye, all the way from Nigeria met Sarah in a Harvard University Sustainability Leadership class when they were put in the same “pod”. Nonye adds some early spice to the show by losing power about 2 minutes before going live. Thankfully her family was nice enough to shine flashlights over Nonye while she continued the podcast in true improvisational style. Nonye establishes her passion for helping people, especially children out of school and on the street in Nigeria. Sarah asks what made her take the action steps required to fulfil her desire to help, since so many people have passions that they don’t act on. Nonye said planning was a large part of it, attributing that behavior to her own personality and habits. 

One takeaway Nonye emphasizes is that keeping the issue at the center of everything you do is critical to continuing your journey. Getting into her quick tips, she encourages the audience to plan, develop, and revise when following your passion. It’s not going to be perfect and it’s not going to be simple. Nonye also mentions the importance of adaptability and Sarah provides the example of a Harvard class project that was spun on its head thanks to Sarah’s “wing it” mentality.