In this episode, Sara speaks to Julia about how Islam has shaped her leading. Sara explains that she trusts Allah has mapped out her journey. At first, she was upset about giving up her dream of being a basketball player, but she soon discovered that pursuing the sport as a referee brought her new and bigger opportunities like the World Cup and the Olympics. While that's true, she emphasises that hard work is essential; one must give their 100% to whatever they do and never underestimate their capabilities. "You don't know what will happen to you, you never know who is watching you...you never know what opportunities will come to you," is what Islam teaches her, and she transfers the same lesson to her juniors. She also talks about how Islam guides her to treat everyone equally and share her learnings and experiences with her juniors, peers and community, so that when she grows, her community grows with her. Sara's leads with positivity and believes that talking to people nicely will always make them respect her even if they fail to like her for whatsoever reason.
About the Guest
Sara Gamal Elsharnouby is from Egypt. She graduated from Alexandria University as a Civil Engineer and is currently an International Basketball referee since 2016. She has refereed in many international competitions such as Tokyo Olympics (2020), FIBA Women World Cup Australia (2022) and many junior men and women World Cups. An inspiring fact about her: Sarah Gamal was the first Arab and African woman to referee 3-on-3 basketball games at the Tokyo Olympics (2020).