Aster Tsegaye

"I was so sympathetic to those people, It was in grade 4. My Amharic teacher asked us what we wanted to be – I said I should be a nurse so I can treat these people."

"Globally, there are very few women scientists who are advancing to the highest levels. The pipeline is leaking, and it leaks most at the top."

"We are in a society where nobody trusts that women can do it, it’s so challenging here. There’s the family burden, the social burden, and of course one’s career. Maybe it’s the way I was raised in the eastern part of Ethiopia."

"When I face a challenge, I always find a way. I’m the kind of person who never gives up."

"Dr Aster is an outstanding and exemplary teacher and a good role model who pushes her students to aspire to greater heights while lending them every possible support within her means."