Managing Director of Airtel Ghana and CIMG Marketing Woman of the Year, Lucy Quist, has challenged young people to dream big, believe in their dreams and work tirelessly to achieve it. 

She gave the advice during a mentorship session with Junior High School students of the Mataheko One School in Accra as part of the Evolve with STEM initiative she is championing as reigning CIMG Marketing Woman of the year.

A passionate advocate for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Lucy Quist recently launched ‘Evolve with STEM’, an initiative to promote the study of these subjects at the basic level of education. 

 As part of the initiative, the Managing Director will be supported by other notable individuals to hold regular mentoring sessions to inspire and empower young people to pursue their dreams and to change their mindsets towards the study of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The initiative will also see a boost in the STEM clubs in the selected schools to provide a platform for young people to engage in science experiential and practical problem solving.

Using herself as an example Lucy Quist shared how her undying pursuit of her dream to lead a company backed by hard work had spurred her on to great heights.

She also emphasized how her background in Engineering had contributed to her success as a business leader.

Her interactions supported by visual content brought to life, for the students, how STEM impacted every facet of human life.

Lucy Quist stated that, “STEM is that unique area of learning that cuts across everything that we do, it encourages curiosity, perseverance and ultimately the ability to solve problems and these are the qualities every young person needs to succeed no matter what career path they choose. 

STEM empowers and shapes the mind and is the best way to groom young people to be problem solvers”.

She continued “The African child needs more exposure to STEM especially in their formative years. They also need the help of people in these fields to serve as examples and to help them realise that actually, these subjects are not difficult and uninteresting.”

That is the purpose of Evolve with STEM – to change mindsets, to inspire and empower our young people to pursue STEM”.

She also indicated her company’s continuous support for education and how Evolve with STEM fits perfectly with Airtel Ghana’s corporate social responsibility strategy.

“Airtel Ghana has been in the forefront of promoting and supporting education through our sustainability initiatives focused on education, health, sports and communities. In the area of education, we have adopted schools across the country, invested heavily in infrastructure and systems to improve teaching and learning.

“We do this because as a business, we believe that every child and every individual has the power of potential – the innate ability to fully realise their dreams and aspirations and what better way to unlock that potential than through education. Evolve with STEM fits perfectly with our CSR focus on education and we are committed to pushing this agenda for maximum impact” she concluded.

Lucy Quist has been involved in mentoring young people and advocating for the use of STEM to advance Africa’s development.

‘Evolve with STEM’ is a project under the ‘Believe it, Achieve it’ programme initiated by a past CIMG Marketing Woman, to mentor and inspire young people.

Airtel is Ghana’s fastest growing network offering superior product and service offerings to meet the communication, connectivity and collaborative needs of its customers.

The company has won several CSR awards including being recently crowned as Best CSR Company for Education at the Ghana CSR Excellence Awards.