Former Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Abigail Agius Mamo has spoken candidly about the long and winding road to completing a Master’s degree while balancing work and family.
In a LinkedIn post, Ms Agius Mamo said that her journey started back in 2019, when she decided to stop postponing her Master’s during a discussion with her husband about the future.
She initially enrolled in an MSc in Economics but had to pause her studies in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic drastically increase her workload at the Chamber, requiring constant crisis management.
In summer 2023, she started from scratch, this time with an MSc in Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation at the University of Bath.
Thus began two and a half years of studying as a working mother.
“I didn’t expect an easy ride, but I underestimated the level of sacrifice required,” she said. “For two and a half years, many weekends were spent studying while my husband took the kids out so I could focus.”
During this period, she also gave birth to her fourth child, stepped down from her Chamber role after a decade as CEO, and moved back into the private sector as a business management coach.
“The journey wasn’t linear. Life required me to slow down at times, take an extension on my thesis, and delay graduation,” she said.
“The truth is, at this stage of life, there is no ‘perfect time.’ There were moments of deep exhaustion, frustration, and tears. But every time, I picked myself up and kept going.”
“Today, I’m incredibly proud to say that this journey ended with a distinction.”
Ms Agius Mamo said she shared her story to encourage others to keep investing in themselves, to trust that progress doesn’t have to be perfect, and to remember that taking a step back if often wiser than pushing to breaking point.
She concluded that it was only possible because of the support provided by her husband, her family, her colleagues and her tutors.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child. I believe it also takes a village to achieve something like this,” she said.
Photo: Abigail Agius Mamo/LinkedIn
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