Toastmasters International honors Asha Mathai for her leadership—and for her public-speaking acumen, skills that she helps others develop, too.
Conventional thinking might hold that engineers are a tongue-tied, uncommunicative group. But don’t tell that to Asha (Thomas) Mathai, who recently earned the rare Distinguished Toastmaster designation from Toastmasters International, a venerable nonprofit devoted to public speaking and leadership.
During her eight years with Toastmasters, which has nearly 300,000 members worldwide, Mathai ENG’01 has delivered dozens of short speeches on everything from the meaning of her name to the importance of goal setting. She’s held leadership posts in Toastmasters, both regionally and in the club at her workplace, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Piscataway, New Jersey, where she is an information-technology project manager. And she’s gained the confidence to speak up in meetings and answer questions from her boss.
Although she joined Toastmasters for self-improvement, Mathai says her greatest satisfaction comes in helping others grow by shedding their terror of public speaking. “I’ve seen people’s lives transformed,” Mathai says. “It’s amazing to see what happens to someone when they overcome just one fear. It opens the door to accomplish more.”
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