Who is Rhonelle Waldron?
I am a finance professional with experience across different roles and diverse industries. I enjoy working with numbers and the story they tell. Outside of my career I enjoy watching tennis and basketball, family time and sleeping.
What does a typical day for you entail?
My day starts at 4:30 with an hour exercise. After that I am in mommy-mode preparing breakfast and doing school drop-off. I arrive at work around 8 am. My first duty of the day is a check-in with my team to ensure they are doing okay and ready for the day. A lot of my day includes account reviews ensuring we are adhering to standards and preparation for the coming month-end. Most times I end up helping my team as well as other departments and end up getting a lot of my own work done after we have closed for the day. Most times it is a pretty fast-paced day and one can get overwhelmed but mental preparation during the commute and priority checklists have become my best friend.
After work, I get home to my family, catch up with them, have dinner - then rinse and repeat the next day.
Weekends are lazy times. I think I deserve that rest in brain activity considering the frantic week workday. So, I sleep in and eat fast food sometimes.
What led to you pursuing a career in Accounting and finance?
My first interaction with Accounting was in secondary school and I failed the first term, yet I liked it. I gave it another go and passed each term after that. There was a thrill that came with preparing financial statements and seeing the numbers on the page. It was at that point I decided that if I got so much joy from this work that I wanted to take it into my adult life and make it a career.
How do you manage disappointments and failure?
I let disappointments and failures have a moment in my life. They probably get to own me for one day then I must move on. Once I pass that period, I analyze myself to see if I could have done anything differently and make it a teaching moment. I have had to also learn in my career that while I may want something for myself such as success in a specific role it might not be the best fit for me. Initially, I feel like I failed since I am my biggest critic but after I also take the experience and glean the positive out of it such as soft skills developed, or technical skills I learned. The aim is to embrace disappointments and failures, don’t dwell on them but instead accept they are there to make us who we are.
Tell us about your most memorable achievement to date.
My current role was thrust upon me with only my experiences from prior positions. During that period, I learned how to be a leader. It was a time of transition within the organization and I recognized that the team was looking to me to guide them on their next steps. My biggest achievement has been earning their respect during this period. They have shown a willingness to learn, commitment to team and share the vision I have for the department.
What keeps you motivated?
Being an inspiration for my children. My career path took several roads to this point and I have had to work to get back on track each time. I want for them to see my work ethic and determination as an example to follow in their lives no matter what they do.
