Playing big roles in the nation’s development, career driven Eritrean females are striving to excel at work. Our guest today, Ruth Yohannes, is one such female who is now working as a civil engineer in Segen Construction Company. She also works as makeup and nail artist.
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Give us a brief introduction to your educational background.
I was born and raised in Asmara, studied elementary school at Godaif Elementary, Junior at Bana Junior-High school and finished my high school at Keih Bahri Secondary school. I went to Sawa in 2011 as a member of the 25th batch, scored 3.8 in the high school leaving certificate exam and joined the College of Science and Technology at Mai Nefhi, where I studied civil engineering and graduated in 2018.
Tell us about your work experience.
My work experience started in 2017, one year before my graduation. I started my work life as a teacher in Denden Commercial School. During my three-year stay at the school, I worked as a mathematics teacher. Then I was assigned to Lasal high school in Keren. I worked at that school for three years, teaching physics. I have this year been given an opportunity to work at Segen Construction Company as a civil engineer just like my fellow engineers. Segen is a big construction company and engages in building roads, dams, and architectural works. I am now working at Segen as a supervisor in the Supervision Department. When a project is designed and given to a client, I go to the construction site to supervise and manage the work that is supposed to be done on time.
As a young woman, how has your work been impacting you?
As a female, my work journey has been interesting. I believe that a female is a super human, so to speak, who can do what she puts her mind on to. Any Eritrean career driven woman is capable of multitasking. I just like my senior female colleagues have been trying to contribute to my nation through the small knowledge and experience that I so far have while facing any challenges that might come my way. Through the work I have been doing, I have learned a lot that has actually made me grow as an individual. During the time as a teacher, I was able to develop my communication and understanding skills as I had to regularly interact with young students and senior colleagues. Working as a teacher, I had to play three roles: be an older sister and model to my students, a friend to my colleagues and a student to the senior teachers. I was a teacher to those young students but I was also gaining a lot of knowledge and experience from them. So, it was a process of giving and receiving, a crucial experience that has impact on my life.
You are also a member of a career-driven female club and volunteering and giving services with this club. Tell us more about what you have been doing there.
The club that I voluntarily work in is a club of career-driven women under the umbrella of the National Union of Eritrean Women. It’s an all-female club that was founded in 2018 by a group of career-driven women in the fields of medicine, journalism, engineering and more. My colleagues in the club and I give seminars to young female students to help them be psychologically ready for the journey ahead, especially during their transformation from Junior to high school and from high school to Sawa. We believe that a psychologically prepared female is always strong and able to perform way better in her future journey, and so we try to inform and advise young girls. We focus on empowering females based on our own life experiences.
Some of the Members of the Eritrean career-driven Female Club
Do you think it’s possible for a female to maintain a balance between her career and social life for a long term?
Definitely. I have learned a lot from so many powerful Eritrean females who are exemplary in their fields of work and in raising their children at the same time. Through the club, I was able to broaden my understanding on how it is possible as long as you are willing. I believe that we as females need that psychological preparedness and awareness, and we need to break any biased concepts that a female should only focus on raising kids. We can multi-task, we are just capable of doing it. It’s just about how willing and committed we are.
Speaking of multitasking, you are also a nail and makeup artist. How did it all start?
I was always fascinated by artistic works and had an urge to express myself through art. When I first joined high school, I took courses on pencil art and water color art. Though my interest in painting faded it kind of gave way to an interest in nail art and make up. I started practicing by performing nail arts and designs on myself. When I was in high school, I used to try and create designs during my summer break. I never had any formal training in nail designing but was developing my skills through research and practice. When I was a teacher in Keren, I took a three-month makeup course. Fast forward to this day, I am now a professional makeup and nail artist and have been working as such since 2021.
What do you think about the free educational opportunities given by the government to every national?
It is the best thing that has happened to me and my colleagues. We are extremely fortunate to be able to take advantage of such opportunities. We know how expensive and unaffordable it is to be able to have such access to education in many parts of the world. We have to focus on education and take advantage of the educational opportunities for a better future.
What’s your long-term goal in the field of engineering?
I want to excel in my career and be somebody that people can look up to. I believe that I am still on my baby steps when it comes to contributing to the development of my country. But I have a goal to keep advancing in my line of work and I am always making progress. I’m striving to be one of the best female engineers in Eritrea. I know I have a long way to go, and I am relentlessly working towards achieving that goal. I hope that we keep getting such educational opportunities by our government so that we can keep contributing and playing our role in the national development. Thank you.
Thank you for your time Ruth. I wish you all the best!
