Setting priorities to achieve success

Nineteen-year-old Shakira Gates was born in Windhoek and raised in Otjiwarongo.

Gates is a trainee accountant at SGA Chartered Accountants and Auditors and aspires to become a chartered accountant.

She picked this profession because she has always been skilled with numbers and enjoys problem-solving.

Accomplishments

She emphasised that throughout the past nine months, this experience has taught her how to be accountable and conscientious in her work. She thinks that having learned these skills at such a young age will undoubtedly help her in the long term in both her professional and personal lives.

Challenges

"The most challenging part has to be working while trying to keep up with studies and having a social life at the same time," Gates said.

She added that the balance is not always there, but this has also led her to make the necessary sacrifices that keep her priorities in place.

"This was actually not where I saw myself after high school," she said.

She dreamed of becoming a paediatrician, but in her final year of high school, her plans changed and she decided to go in another direction.

She enjoys trying out new food spots during her free time, creating content for her social media platforms, spending time with her friends and sometimes staying at home and working on her piano skills.

Her advice to young people is to set some goals and take them seriously.