Home>Myassa Djebara, Class of 2015
24.02.2023
Myassa Djebara, Class of 2015
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?
As a high school student in Alès in the Gard region, my main teacher was a teacher of philosophy, who found himself sent to the Cévennes, a long way (in total) from his native Paris. I dared to talk to him about Sciences Po, a little haggard, a little ashamed, a lot dreamy. From afternoons of filing to blank tests, from French history to the principles of macroeconomics, I discovered the rigour of effort at the same time as I encountered freedom.
At Sciences Po, I looked for courses that would bring me closer to my first love: philosophy and literature. I liked writing and thinking. I had no fixed project in mind, but I was driven by a single goal, which some would still say was naïve, but I remained faithful to it: to serve the country that had given me the means to rise.
From there, everything followed: public affairs, the Ena prep school*, local authorities, mission companies, then the ministry, and always this adolescent taste for writing.
HOW DOES ONE BECOME A MINISTER'S PEN?
By dreaming about it as a child!
Any professional path is made on two legs: competence and meetings. Sometimes one leg is shorter than the other, but all this can be corrected! I keep in mind the words of one of my mentors: "We transform ourselves through effort, not through laziness".
Effort, curiosity, desire in the service of work (or the other way round!) often lead us close to our childhood dreams... and to our adult dreams.
WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DID YOUR TRAINING AT THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS MAKE TO THE POSITION YOU HOLD TODAY?
Where to start? A high level of self-demand. A sharp analytical and critical mind. And a network of alumni who are frankly quick to help each other.
Preparing for the ENA exam was the most edifying period of my university career. On the day of the exam, on the starting line, you arrive with a level of knowledge that you know is unequalled. Never again in your life will your head be so methodically full.
I am lucky enough to work with a minister who is also a neurologist. Every day I discover a little more about the most fascinating organ of the human body, its plasticity and resilience, on the borderline of muscle. My years at Sciences Po trained it to survive whatever the subject, whatever the moment. These reflexes of the brain, such as this integrated capacity to produce a plan in a few moments, i.e. an organised thought that unfolds, are precious assets in the job I do today.
WOULD YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE TO GIVE TO A STUDENT OR FUTURE GRADUATE?
To listen to your instincts, with complete confidence, in all circumstances. I wish someone had told me that!
I've seen too many of my peers try to fit circles into squares and suffer for it, come close to burn/bore/brown out and be stubborn. Convincing themselves that yes, when all around them was shouting no.
Chance and instinct, combined with the ability to look ahead, are the best allies for a rewarding and surprising professional life. We work as we like. With momentum.
*The ENA Prep has been replaced by the PrépaConcours.
