Expectations Defied Ousman Mahmud

A trip to the University of Connecticut in 2018 for a graduate school outreach event made me realize I wanted to pursue a PhD education. My experiences during this trip will not have been possible without advocacy. Advocating is actively supporting and promoting a cause or performing acts centered around a cause you are passionate about. Advocating is crucial in everyone's life. I have seen the power of advocating. I advocated for many issues and causes. In this episode, I talk about the benefits of advocating, how advocating has positively impacted my life, share stories around my advocacy initiatives, and action items to get you started advocating.

Unarguably, learning has been the most important success habit I have picked up during my career so far. The strides I have made so far are only possible due to being open to learning consistently. I have developed a lifelong learning ethic and will continue to strengthen in this area. In this episode, I talk about the power of lifelong learning and how it helped me, how to develop lifelong learning skills, and action items around learning to follow up on.

Writing is one of the most important skills in any career. I have become a better writer in my career. Graduate school has helped me develop my writing skills. I wrote scientific articles, a Master’s thesis, and a PhD dissertation. I have started to write about my journey which led to the creation of this podcast. In this episode, I talk about the power of writing and how it helped me. I share tips to develop your writing skills and write more. And action items to follow up on.

I have become an avid reader. I read scientific articles, autobiographies, blog posts, newsletters, works of fiction, and many other literary pieces. In reading, I get to learn, get exposure, gain experiences, become more aware and think better. In this episode, I share: 🔘The power of reading, 🔘Tips to read more, and 🔘Where to find reading resources. Whether you're an avid reader or just getting started, this episode will give you the inspiration and tools you need to make reading a regular part of your daily routine.

The power of mentorship cannot be over-emphasized. I have motivational mentors throughout my journey. I had the greatest mentor while I was a PhD student, she not only supported me throughout but also pushed me to become a better scientist. I can’t forget my master’s thesis advisor who introduced me to Bioinformatics and “opened a lot of doors” for me, which enabled me to get to where I am today. I had trouble navigating the “unknowns”, the little decisions that can make a great impact in one’s life. I’m grateful to have made logical decisions, whenever I could, by myself or through the guidance of my mentors. In this episode, I talk about the power of Mentoring and how it helped me, how to seek out mentors, how to become a mentor, and action items to follow up on. 

Early on in my career, I knew I had to network to get by and ahead. My network have opened up many doors for me. In this episode, I talk about how I built and expanded my network. I also share: 🔘 The power of networking 🔘 How to build and maintain your network 🔘 Where to find networking opportunities 🔘 How to network 🔘 Actions items to follow up on