Husna – a recent graduate from Omega’s Personal Development Course – is warm, charming, and easy to talk to – but she says that hasn’t always been the case. It’s only in the last few years that she has become the person she is today.
“If there was something social, I tried to avoid it,” she says. “I was that kind of person – not confident with other people.”
This transformation began rather simply – Husna went to an English course at a place called Xpert International Training and Testing Center, where one of her teachers noticed her hard work, and suggested she come and volunteer at the English Center. Husna was excited to have the opportunity, so she said yes! Before long, the volunteer position turned into an offer for her to teach her own class.
When she walked into her classroom on the first day, it was filled with students. “I was not the kind of person to be with so many people. I thought, I’m not good at this. I can’t do it.”
At the end of that hour-long class, Husna told her students she would have her boss, Hamid, come and talk to them, and walked out of her classroom. She went straight to Hamid and told him there was no way she could continue teaching.
“Just give this class to someone else – I can’t do it,” she told him. He encouraged her to sit and take a minute to calm down, while he went to speak with her students. He came back and told her the students had said everything went fine, and handed her their registration fees – her first paycheck.
His encouragement was enough for Husna to go back the next day and try again – but every day was still a challenge.
“I was constantly feeling like I was not good enough,” she shares. But it was her boss’s consistent encouragement that helped her to continue.
“The course was for 45 days, and for 45 days, my boss sat with me every day before the class or after the class. Before the class, he was encouraging me and saying, ‘You can do this.’ Sometimes after the class, I would say ‘I messed up, I cannot do it,’ and I would cry. And he was there, still telling me ‘You can do this.’”
Many times, he would tell her, “Husna, it’s okay to cry, but come out of your comfort zone.”
45 challenging days later, Husna had finished her class, and before she knew it, another one was beginning – but this time, she was a little bit more confident.
It was because of this teacher, and later boss, that Husna went from a person who couldn’t stand in front of others to someone who was willing to step outside of her comfort zone and try new things – taking new courses, learning new skills, and teaching. As time went on, she realized that she longed to see others have the same experience she had – stepping out of their comfort zones and into their potential. It was her desire to learn new skills and help others grow, too, that brought her to Omega’s Personal Development Course.
The Personal Development Course takes place over 12 lessons, where people learn about core values and skills such as building trust, communicating well, being people of integrity, and determining and working towards their mission and vision. Husna says that so many of these topics were valuable to her – but articulating her vision was particularly impactful.
She wasn’t sure at first what her vision should be – but before long, she recognized that she already had a vision.
“I want to find those ‘Husnas’ – to bring those people out of their comfort zones, because I believe everyone has a gift, and sometimes you need someone to believe in you to bring it out of you.”
Husna says that she learned from the course that doing that – and working towards any greater vision you may have for your life – starts with you. “It’s a personal development course – leadership itself, it starts from there, and you can then go beyond that.”
So much has shifted in Husna’s own life as a result of this course, with ripple effects in her family life, and even how she interacts with her students today. She used to be quick to blame others in hard situations, but now, she asks herself what she can change in a situation. She realizes the importance of clearly communicated expectations and works hard to share what hers are. She has grown as a listener – she laughs as she recounts a quote: “’God gave you two ears and one mouth, so listen more and talk less.’ I’m working on that; to listen more, to try to understand people and find a better way to communicate with them.”
Now, when Husna teaches English, she works hard to ensure the students do most of the talking, and that she listens and takes note of who might be another ‘Husna,’ like she once was. “I am clear with my vision with them… my goal is not about teaching the language in there” With the language, [I am] finding the qualities in them, their interests, and working on that with them.”
Husna’s transformation is inspiring – and her vision to see others like her empowered is exactly what Omega is all about – equipping and empowering people to thrive!
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