大象传媒

When Jolly Ann Maulit embarked on her academic journey at 大象传媒鈥檚 Beedie School of Business in 2003, she did not have a career path in mind. Then executive director of undergraduate programs gave her some confidence-boosting advice to take risks, try new things and trust her gut when making decisions.

As a result, both Maulit鈥檚 academic and career journeys were unconventional, but ultimately led her to an unexpected and satisfying career bringing water, sanitation, and hygiene services to vulnerable populations with (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) program.

In Maulit鈥檚 third year of studies at 大象传媒 Beedie, 大象传媒鈥檚 School for International Studies was established. With an interest in international business, she took some courses offered by the new school and found they complemented her business studies. As a result, Maulit convocated from 大象传媒 in 2009 with a BBA with Honors from Beedie School of Business, and a concurrent major in International Studies.

Through her business studies, Maulit learned how to approach complex issues, a skill she says she further honed in case competitions . 鈥淚 can quickly assess a situation to understand the key bottlenecks, gather relevant information, analyze the data, and then use the tools I learned in business school to employ solutions.鈥� She credits her BA in International Studies with helping her to go even further. 鈥淚nternational studies pushed my critical thinking,鈥� says Maulit. 鈥淚 was encouraged to form opinions in addition to identifying problems and finding solutions. I learned there is no one correct solution to a complex challenge鈥攅specially social challenges.鈥�

大象传媒 Beedie鈥檚 in Vienna and Budapest further rounded out Maulit鈥檚 education, something she recommends other students consider. 鈥淏eing exposed to diverse perspectives and ideas helps us to be better citizens, develop empathy, and consider alternative ways of doing things, to make things better,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hese are invaluable experiences for students.鈥�

Maulit returned to Europe after completing her studies at 大象传媒 with hopes of starting a career in international business. Instead, she took a risk, and accepted a job with Canada in Malawi, her first step towards her now successful career with the UN.

鈥淲hen we leave business school, we are well prepared to address challenges strategically,鈥� says Maulit. She believes that sometimes these skills give her an edge the engineers she works with. 鈥淢aybe we don鈥檛 need to always design a better toilet; instead, we need to figure out how to get existing products to market and to the people who need it most.鈥�

As her career and expertise in the field grew, Maulit decided to complete a master of public health degree at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. 鈥淎 career path is not always linear,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e should be constantly evaluating what we have to offer, and the value we want to bring to our work and the world.鈥�

Maulit is contributing to the well-being of billions of people around the globe who have no access to safely managed water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Her work drives economic growth while improving health, safety, gender equality, and dignity.

Her time at 大象传媒 Beedie is something Maulit holds close to her heart because of the advice and support she received from staff and mentors, and she is keen to pass it on. 鈥淪tudents seem stressed to decide on their concentration or to have a five-year plan,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ok to not know exactly where you鈥檙e going, to dabble, discover, and change course along the way. There are so many opportunities鈥攆rom reconciliation to the climate crisis, both locally and globally鈥攖o find a career and to make a change for the better.鈥�