Is it a cliché to write this piece to the sound of Tom Jobim? We can leave the rhythm in the background and think about each mixture a chemical engineer will have needed to make in order to develop “wine” from honey. Curious? Let us embark with Joelma Murargy to discover what she did and what she does now in Brazil.
The curiosity to discover the world has always been present in Joelma. While still a teenager, she set off on adventures to places where she knew no one, because she felt it was necessary to test her ability to survive away from her parents’ care. “That was something that thrilled me,” says the 26-year-old. Now living between Itajubá, in the state of Minas Gerais, and the city of São Paulo, in Brazil, the engineer believes that the opportunity to discover new cultures is decisive for more humane and more responsible growth.
A recent graduate, Joelma Murargy entered the job market only a short time ago and, even though she took the Chemical Engineering course at the Federal University of Itajubá in Minas Gerais, UNIFEI, where her work focused on the industrialised production of “wine” from honey, she is currently working in the financial market. Education in the Brazilian system is different from that in the Mozambican system, and it is usual for the internship to differ from the academic training, which ends up giving each professional a more holistic view of the market.
Now living between Itajubá, in the state of Minas Gerais, and the city of São Paulo, in Brazil, Joelma believes that the opportunity to discover new cultures is decisive for more humane and more responsible growth
“When I chose chemical engineering, I dreamed of working in a laboratory and focusing on cosmetics, but over the years at university I began to question my choices,” she confesses. As with the paths of many other people, Joelma’s expectations did not match what was actually happening in her life. Nevertheless, she carried on and finished the course as she had originally planned. Above all, the young woman is looking for a job in which she feels challenged every day, with a healthy competitive environment, and in which she wakes up motivated every day, not feeling that going to work is an obligation. Who has never wished for that?
Murargy is writing her story and, although no longer along the paths of chemical engineering, she has projects she would like to implement: “The investment bank where I work is focused on the digital field, in the agribusiness sector. It is a different model from the big banks because it invests in interpersonal relationships with its clients. I believe that, if I decide to embrace this area, after a few years of experience at the Bank, I will be able to bring added value to the investment area of banking in Mozambique,’ the young woman shares.
One thing is certain: Joelma will always have her willpower, and samba, of course. The engineer shares, through email correspondence with Xonguila magazine, that she feels so immersed in Brazilian culture that she ends up not reliving Mozambican culture as much as she would like. “In Brazil, their culture is so strong that it seems the rest of the world does not exist. But, in terms of language, when I am in Mozambique, I do not speak with a [Brazilian] accent,” the young woman declares. On this side, we believe that even when she sits on a beach in that country, she gazes out and sees again the blue of our Indian Ocean.
