When she joined GALP in 2005, Nicole Ribeiro was just starting out on a career as an environmental engineer. She was attached to the Department of Environment, Quality, Safety and Sustainability for almost ten years, although she was involved in a number of different tasks during this time. In 2014 she was assigned to Petrogal Brasil for six months to replace a colleague who was on maternity leave. This experience changed her life. Her penchant for adventure, which had been dormant up to that point, burst forth and never looked back.
The time spent on another continent left her in no doubt with regard to what she wanted to do. When she returned, she participated in minor voluntary projects, both in Portugal and abroad, and enrolled with the United Nations (UN) platform in the hope of being invited to take part in a mission in her area of training, due to the fact, as she herself explains, “I wanted to share a little of my knowledge with other people. Moreover, I like going beyond my comfort zone, looking for other things, dealing with new cultures and new ways of being and working”.
Participating in a UN mission was an old dream she wanted to fulfill. She was lucky. The opportunity soon arose to take on the position of environmental manager, but she had to decline due to family reasons, however a similar opportunity arose in 2017 and paved her way to Afghanistan. She didn't intend to let it pass her by this time: “It´s hard to explain, but I quickly became really determined to live the dream I thought would be almost impossible to achieve”.
PASSPORT FOR MOVING FORWARD
Once the process was in motion, she needed to make decisions. Afghanistan was immersed in conflict, however she felt confident she would be safe and that nothing would happen to her. “This is what I want, this is what I´m going to do and everything´s going to be fine”, she told herself. Her friends and family all thought it was a “scary idea” and that she was “crazy”, however her parents supported her: “I have a wonderful family who always back my decisions, even if that means we´re going to be a long way apart geographically speaking. They know me and understand why; I think they knew I've been looking for something that made sense to me. Of course I thought it over at great length for several reasons, but always thinking positively. The support I received from my team, my superiors and the Galp human resources department was also important, for having granted me unlimited leave, which ended up being a passport for moving forward”, Nicole declares.
In Kabul, she's in charge of the environmental side of the mission and is living in a challenging multicultural setting in which communication is a key factor: “That's one of things that appeals to me, saying good morning in four or five different languages. I´m so glad now I didn't change my mind. People on the outside may think this is a crazy experience, but I think I'm blessed”.
However, her participation in this United Nations mission is about to end and she will soon be returning to Lisbon, personally and professionally enriched, and with further aspirations in her baggage: “This is how dreams are fulfilled, with new dreams for the near future… I want to return to Galp without losing the perspective of leaving my comfort zone again. The company enables us to open our horizons and I wouldn't mind taking part in a project in Mozambique, for example”. Determined and courageous, at the age of 38 Nicole Ribeiro continues to be driven by a spirit of adventure and the will to contribute to a greater good in some way or another.