This week, I had the chance to interview Nelly Serageldin, an International Development major here at McGill, and more impressively, Assistant Manager for Vector Marketing of Cutco Cutlery.
I met her in my marketing class and got to know her through working with her on group projects. Throughout the semester, it slowly dawned on me by snippets of stories she would tell us, just how much she had to handle on a day to day basis. In her third year at McGill, she’s already won two scholarships, three President’s Clubs Awards and is looking forward to managing her very own branch office for Vector Marketing this summer.
Nelly is one of those incredibly accomplished and ambitious individuals we look at for inspiration, and I was lucky enough to get her to spill some of her secrets about juggling school and work. So what can we learn from her disciplined time management, high-achieving personality and positive outlook (hint: LOTS)?
Cleona Tsang for Her Campus McGill (HC McGill): Tell me about yourself. Where are you from and how old are you?
Nelly Serageldin (NS): I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. I moved to Canada in August 2011, with my mom and brother, to go to McGill University – but the rest of my family is still back home in Egypt. I just turned 21 years old.
HC McGill: Tell me about where you work. Would you say its fast-paced, stressful, fun or a whole combination?
NS: I work at Vector Marketing. It’s the marketing arm of Cutco Cutlery. The company started in 1981 and this year we celebrate our 25th anniversary in Canada. I started working there in December 2012. I’ve been with the company since then. It’s a very dynamic place. We market the #1 highest quality cutlery brand in the continent of North America. It is an extremely fast-paced environment. Things are always happening, but it helps you a lot to learn how to manage your time and balance between school, work, and life. But most importantly, it’s so much fun! It’s a place where we are always learning and growing.
HC McGill: How did you start working there? Tell me about your journey within the company.
NS: I had an opportunity to get an interview with the company because a friend of mine who worked for them recommended me for the job. I was recruited in December 2012. I was able to advance and move up in the company with my persistence and the belief of the management team that I could do it. I started as a sales representative in the company. In March 2013, I was invited to go to a management conference and I was given an opportunity to train to be an Assistant Manager in the summer of 2013. Since then, I’ve accomplished various things, such as #1 Assistant Manager in our office, three President’s Club Awards, and scholarships. In the summer of 2014, I was promoted to Lead Assistant Manager and oversaw the Personal Recruiting Department for the Main District Office. It was an amazing summer. We finished as the #1 office in Eastern Canada for the year. I’m excited for the summer of 2015, where I’m going to get an opportunity to run my own branch office in West Island. I’m so excited to able to give back this great opportunity I’ve been given and have other people share this amazing experience. I’m also going to try to win the Silver Cup for the #1 top branch in the summer in Canada.
HC McGill: I hear you are responsible for leading a team of people. Is that challenging?
NS: Absolutely! What’s challenging about leading a team is not in all the little work you do, but more about how you would lead yourself and lead your life. Leadership is about personal development and our pursuits of becoming the best version of ourselves. And what really makes all of it rewarding, is seeing people grow with you in the process.
HC McGill: How does your workplace affect your performance at McGill, and vice versa?
NS: I’m in my third year now in International Development, although my work is different than what I’m studying (totally different, actually). The experience I’m getting at the company is really helping me in my performance at school. I’m learning time management skills, I’m always developing my communication skills, which helps a lot in all my school presentations, and I’m getting the best grades ever. I feel I can tackle more because I continue to increase my capacity for working and studying at the same time. I think school has positively impacted my work as well. Being a full time student and having a part time job at the same time has its own challenges. I’ve really learned through Vector how to balance my time to be able to get good grades and complete assignments as well as balance my job. On team at Vector about 90% of our staff is in the same situation as I am – full time students learning how to balance these things. I think the maturity level I had to work, make enough money, pay off school, graduate debt free, is something that helped me teach the students I manage, how to do the same thing.
HC McGill: Tell me the greatest lesson you’ve learned in the past year.
NS: The greatest lesson would be that it’s important to be part of something that allows you to learn, grow, and dream. No matter how much you think you grew or matured, you have no idea how much more you could acquire because development and growth are unlimited. They are just waiting for you to tap into the potential inside you.
HC McGill: What can you see yourself doing after graduation? In 10 years?
NS: After I graduate, I’m going to use my degree in developing countries. I see myself achieving what I want not only from the knowledge from my classes and text books; but also from my Vector experience of working with people, speaking in public, and voicing my opinion and what I stand for. In 10 years, I see myself as the Egyptian Ambassador in Canada (I’m Canadian too!) and if I keep myself on this track, I don’t think anything will stop me from achieving what I want.
HC McGill: Tell me about a time when you felt super stressed out and felt as if everything were going to crash around you, but you managed to salvage things.
NS: Sometimes it feels like everyday in my life is like that! But this one time I felt that everything was going to crash was in March/April 2013 during final exams and management promotions, when my dad got really sick. All the mental toughness that I’ve acquired from my life and Vector just came into action. I had to control myself and move forward with life and know that stressing out will not lead me anywhere. I lived with the attitude of “Champions find a way!” I had a flexible schedule to work around school and study time and a supportive management team. I got the best grades that semester and got my management promotion.
HC McGill: How do you like to de-stress?
NS: I like to catch up with my friends from back home! I get swamped with their stories and updates about home, which always makes me forget about why I was even stressed out.
HC McGill: If you could choose to do one thing or another (school or work) entirely, which would you choose and why?
NS: Since I started working with Vector while going to school, I’ve chosen to do both. The reason I made that choice is because I think we sometimes live in the land of “OR” not the land of “AND.” We tend to sometimes feel school or work. I think life is about school and work and much more. As we get older, more responsibilities appear on our plate and I think what I’m doing now makes me very marketable when I graduate and achieve what I want to in 10 years time.
HC McGill: What is some advice you can give to our readers about how to manage school and work, and engage in time management in general?
NS: Time management is a very simple thing to do, but it requires discipline. The first key to planning is putting time in your schedule to plan. Sometimes when we have too much on our plate, we tend to lose track of time and stop planning. There has to be a time in a week where you sit down and plan it out in detail. The second key is to make sure to do what’s urgent and important first, but keeping focused on what’s not urgent but important – being next on the list. I recommend you read the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey; it helps you handle your tasks in the right order when you have a lot of different things you have to get done.
Nelly’s determination and initiative is something collegiettes the world over can learn from and take into their stride. We at Her Campus are happy to be able to say we attend McGill with such brilliant young women!
Images provided by the interviewee.