Writing your own story

Octavia Hermien Tsibes, the project coordinator of My Zone, the youth brand of Namibia Media Holdings, believes in following your passion, hard work and always staying true to who you are.
ELIZABETH JOSEPH
Mariselle Stofberg

Octavia Tsibes was born and raised in Otjiwarongo.

Her family has always been interested in writing, and this passion is evident in this humble and hardworking journalist at Namibia Media Holdings (NMH), who is extremely passionate about the work she does.

Her family bought a computer when Tsibes was in grade 3 and this further deepened her journalistic and writing skills.

“My sister and I would use this computer to educate ourselves and to gain more knowledge about technology and the impact it can have on one’s life. This is where my love for writing further grew,” she said.

The curiousness that is so part of Tsibes’ nature encouraged her to read newspapers after her parents were finished, and this opened a new world to the aspiring writer and journalist.

“This is how I was introduced to an ad in Republikein which urged young people to contribute to the school pages of the newspaper, by writing school and community news.” Her first story was published while she was in grade 10 and kick-started her career.

Tsibes continued to contribute to the school pages throughout her school years and was employed as an intern at Republikein in 2016.

In 2018 she was employed as a junior journalist. She then applied to study accounting and auditing at the University of Namibia (Unam), but decided to move courses and institutions after a year to study business communication at Southern Business School (SBS) to allow her more time to devote to her career. She was then appointed as the coordinating journalist, focusing on Careers, one of the publications produced by NMH, and the project coordinator at My Zone, the youth brand of NMH.

Tsibes is responsible for coordinating the weekly Careers publication, gathering stories, meeting deadlines, engaging key clients, reporting for The Zone, managing projects of My Zone and so much more.

“I love the beat that I have as a journalist, because I love working with kids every day. I love how they continue to teach you so much, and they force you to not only adapt to technological advancements, but to stay youthful and energetic. I would never want to trade this for anything.”

Tsibes still believes she has a long journey ahead of her to continue to develop and build this beloved brand of NMH. She was present during the creation of the My Zone brand and would give her everything to ensure this adored brand continues to grow and reaches even bigger highs. “This brand is extremely dear to my heart and I want to be a part of the amazing journey we still have ahead.”

Tsibes believes is working hard to create a product that one can continue to be proud of. “Someone that is humble, willing to learn and accommodative towards others is something that truly inspires me. I don’t live for recognition, but rather working towards creating a product I can be proud of; making sure the job is done and it is done well is what makes me happy.”

Fun facts about Octavia

· She does not tend to panic or stress, but relives her stress with colouring.

· She is low-key OCD.

· She can eat 1 000 hot dogs if she wanted to.

· She’s not a movie person and would rather read books. Her favourite author Myles Munroe.

· Khorixas is very dear to her heart, having grown up on a farm near the town.

· She hates bats and any crawling creatures.

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Republikein 2024-11-23

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