Her take on life is simple and one may mistake her for somebody who’s had it all easy but Rozelle Mero has earned her place through sheer enthusiasm in everything that she ever took up. People called her ‘Miss Goodie Two Shoes’ as a student in Little Flower School but she’d like to think she grew up in a competitive environment where she took on every opportunity that came her way, and in fact, participated in all the school activities and even won some prizes whether it’s singing or elocution.
Going back to her college days, she thinks it is by accident that she became quite an athlete but it is no surprise that she did well throughout because she was the college champion year after year. Alongside, she efficiently balanced her studies and a part time job while she graduated.
Interestingly, she also taught Hindi to some children at one point which all went into giving her enough earnings to suffice as her pocket money. She says, “I was proud of it because it helped me learn to be organised as well”.
Needless to say, she learnt the value of money at a very young age and respected it all the more because she earned what she spent. “We’re not all officers’ family where we could hop into our daddy’s car” she states as it slowly becomes evident that the enormously independent woman she is today was a result of many experiences.
She believes God has a grander plan for everybody even as she moved to Bombay to pursue her Masters in English. There, it was at an elite Chinese Restaurant where she worked part time as Receptionist and Hostess that she got introduced to the outside world, as she puts it. Precisely, it was the Dinner for the Filmfare Awards where she was already getting a peek of the big names in the film industry and she was just 19 then.
Recalling her days there, she says “it’s the kindness of people who groom you, and make you realise the value of life”. It was her thirst for knowledge that she found everything incredible whether it’s a party, a church gathering, college or any other occasion, she insists that there is always something new to learn.
Subsequently, she worked with an advertising agency as the Model Coordinator and describes the experience as fascinating and a great leaning experience, after which she left Bombay for a while only to return and become the General Manager for a Designer Store. It was a time when Star TV just started and as she took over the Company also did its first Fashion Show with the Channel.
Her rendezvous with Cathay Pacific came around unexpectedly as she never saw herself as a steward. However, she has never missed opportunities in life. “I never stopped myself” she says and took every opportunity that came her way. Eventually her love for art propelled her to join a Design School in the United States. ‘I worked like a dog’ she says but it was not in vain as the School used her work to get accreditation.
And after working a while there, she decided to come back to Nagaland and became a trendsetter by opening “Under 1 roof”, filling it with interesting colourful stuffs while starting a lot of designing projects overseas. She loves to “travel, see what’s happening, meet friends around the world…I keep myself updated all the time.”
She is also a very positive person and expresses that “it gives you strength, although I have to admit that it’s always been God paving my way and opening the roads for me.” She insists that “it’s very important to stop and smell roses along the way because life is too short not to appreciate the simple things in life”. ‘Be happy with life’, she further says while explaining that “as human beings our wants are endless but our needs are not endless.” “Just aim to make it even better” she asserts and that’s exactly how she has come a long way with her struggles in life, of being a single mom and going through other nasty experiences that she’d rather not indulge in.
It is evident from the way she narrates her story that her Grandma was her greatest influence as she reminiscences on treasures that she freely gave away. Remembering her as somebody who prayed, she says “having her influence in my life was amazing”. She always taught us not to be mad or angry with anybody, Rozelle adds and feels that God has a special purpose for everyone and “we really have to find it, and if along the way we hurt somebody we should also make it a point to apologize” she emphasizes.
She feels that there is so much to learn in life that a lifetime isn’t enough and wishes to tell “young people who have the opportunity to get through life now not to turn down any single opportunity- even just participating, working with a charity, or anything. It may help you make a career in your life.”
As for now, she is happy to be recruiting for JW Marriott Hotels for the North East Region and North Bengal and is delighted to add that they are recruiting architects and engineers as well where 60-70 Nagas could get the opportunity to work in a 5 Star Hotel in Pune and 50 others in Oak Wood Residence, Pune.
Observing that there are few people working in management and the technical side, she hopes that this would be a great opportunity to solve unemployment in Nagaland. To which end, it is her dream that “every young Naga should take the opportunity to go outside and get ideas, work for many years and come back to share those experiences.”
Talking of people being apprehensive of starting new ventures due to insurgency problems, she says “the problem exists but if we have Non-Nagas who can come to Nagaland and earn crores and crores and still live in Nagaland, why not us?” “What is wrong with the Nagas that we cannot become retailers?” she questions and is of the opinion that we are lucky if a Naga owns a store in every 5 stores in a building in Dimapur. In today’s world, she says “I think we have to learn how to multitask- grab the opportunities, focus on it, there’s nothing wrong with.”
On the other hand, she regrets that corruption is another battle that the Naga society has not won over. “There are Nagas who are incredibly rich but nobody has the guts to question them” she points out but is hopeful that the younger generation’s coming up. “I hope we’ll become thinker and start questioning, not in the form of accusing but in such a way that it makes them conscious of their deeds.”
With many young entrepreneurs coming up, she also hopes that “our brothers in arms will support them” and that Nagas will not be copycats but reinvent things and be productive. Actually, she believes that if “we Nagas come together, we might end up becoming best in the North East.”
Having so many years of experience herself, she insists on young people to take up part time jobs. The problem, she says is that we earn a little money and splurge it on nice clothes, flashy cars, that’s it and there are people who don’t even earn but have the flashiest gadgets. Regretting that we seem to be happy living ‘only for today’, she says “we have to change that and have broader visions.
Meanwhile, she thinks we’re lucky to have dynamic leaders but says “we also have leaders who should be a little more accommodative and include women in decision making” and excitedly adds “we might pleasantly surprise them…” and that, it’s not about disrespecting men or what existed but explains that “every civilization evolves and we should make changes.”
The future, she says, ‘is for you and me’ and encourages that every young person should go outside (Nagaland) if they get an opportunity. She expresses that “mid twenties is the best time to hone your skills and not worry too much about your salaries” but in the process start to be negotiators for salaries, and finally demand for it. “When you earn it, everything becomes so much more beautiful”, she opines.
‘It is important that you learn how to give back to the society’, which she explains may not be all about money but time you can spend with people, sharing your experiences. To which ends, she only feels that the only way we can build our society is by ‘staying positive’.
She also wishes that our children would read more, go outside and play more, be creative, get to know the neighbourhood kids, on which note, she rues that “you don’t see it anymore…you don’t even know who your neighbours are, we’re all strangers” and points out that the places we make friends may only be through the church, school, or work.
Her mantra in life seems to lie in taking everything in life as an opportunity. “I’d advise people not to be stuck in a rut, but go for it!” “Never shut doors, make a new network, build contacts” the ever effervescent lady says.
She looks forward to the future, to the many things that will happen and aims to be a change in somebody’s life, which, it seems, she has already fulfilled as the Proprietor of People Channel. Through it, she has already helped a lot of people to get jobs besides the numerous skills she chose to share on various occasions. She has also, recently trained the new batch of EACs on lifestyle management and is grateful for the opportunity to meet and share ideas with them, and to be a part of these new bureaucrats, as she says it.
Going back to her college days, she thinks it is by accident that she became quite an athlete but it is no surprise that she did well throughout because she was the college champion year after year. Alongside, she efficiently balanced her studies and a part time job while she graduated.
Interestingly, she also taught Hindi to some children at one point which all went into giving her enough earnings to suffice as her pocket money. She says, “I was proud of it because it helped me learn to be organised as well”.
Needless to say, she learnt the value of money at a very young age and respected it all the more because she earned what she spent. “We’re not all officers’ family where we could hop into our daddy’s car” she states as it slowly becomes evident that the enormously independent woman she is today was a result of many experiences.
She believes God has a grander plan for everybody even as she moved to Bombay to pursue her Masters in English. There, it was at an elite Chinese Restaurant where she worked part time as Receptionist and Hostess that she got introduced to the outside world, as she puts it. Precisely, it was the Dinner for the Filmfare Awards where she was already getting a peek of the big names in the film industry and she was just 19 then.
Recalling her days there, she says “it’s the kindness of people who groom you, and make you realise the value of life”. It was her thirst for knowledge that she found everything incredible whether it’s a party, a church gathering, college or any other occasion, she insists that there is always something new to learn.
Subsequently, she worked with an advertising agency as the Model Coordinator and describes the experience as fascinating and a great leaning experience, after which she left Bombay for a while only to return and become the General Manager for a Designer Store. It was a time when Star TV just started and as she took over the Company also did its first Fashion Show with the Channel.
Her rendezvous with Cathay Pacific came around unexpectedly as she never saw herself as a steward. However, she has never missed opportunities in life. “I never stopped myself” she says and took every opportunity that came her way. Eventually her love for art propelled her to join a Design School in the United States. ‘I worked like a dog’ she says but it was not in vain as the School used her work to get accreditation.
And after working a while there, she decided to come back to Nagaland and became a trendsetter by opening “Under 1 roof”, filling it with interesting colourful stuffs while starting a lot of designing projects overseas. She loves to “travel, see what’s happening, meet friends around the world…I keep myself updated all the time.”
She is also a very positive person and expresses that “it gives you strength, although I have to admit that it’s always been God paving my way and opening the roads for me.” She insists that “it’s very important to stop and smell roses along the way because life is too short not to appreciate the simple things in life”. ‘Be happy with life’, she further says while explaining that “as human beings our wants are endless but our needs are not endless.” “Just aim to make it even better” she asserts and that’s exactly how she has come a long way with her struggles in life, of being a single mom and going through other nasty experiences that she’d rather not indulge in.
It is evident from the way she narrates her story that her Grandma was her greatest influence as she reminiscences on treasures that she freely gave away. Remembering her as somebody who prayed, she says “having her influence in my life was amazing”. She always taught us not to be mad or angry with anybody, Rozelle adds and feels that God has a special purpose for everyone and “we really have to find it, and if along the way we hurt somebody we should also make it a point to apologize” she emphasizes.
She feels that there is so much to learn in life that a lifetime isn’t enough and wishes to tell “young people who have the opportunity to get through life now not to turn down any single opportunity- even just participating, working with a charity, or anything. It may help you make a career in your life.”
As for now, she is happy to be recruiting for JW Marriott Hotels for the North East Region and North Bengal and is delighted to add that they are recruiting architects and engineers as well where 60-70 Nagas could get the opportunity to work in a 5 Star Hotel in Pune and 50 others in Oak Wood Residence, Pune.
Observing that there are few people working in management and the technical side, she hopes that this would be a great opportunity to solve unemployment in Nagaland. To which end, it is her dream that “every young Naga should take the opportunity to go outside and get ideas, work for many years and come back to share those experiences.”
Talking of people being apprehensive of starting new ventures due to insurgency problems, she says “the problem exists but if we have Non-Nagas who can come to Nagaland and earn crores and crores and still live in Nagaland, why not us?” “What is wrong with the Nagas that we cannot become retailers?” she questions and is of the opinion that we are lucky if a Naga owns a store in every 5 stores in a building in Dimapur. In today’s world, she says “I think we have to learn how to multitask- grab the opportunities, focus on it, there’s nothing wrong with.”
On the other hand, she regrets that corruption is another battle that the Naga society has not won over. “There are Nagas who are incredibly rich but nobody has the guts to question them” she points out but is hopeful that the younger generation’s coming up. “I hope we’ll become thinker and start questioning, not in the form of accusing but in such a way that it makes them conscious of their deeds.”
With many young entrepreneurs coming up, she also hopes that “our brothers in arms will support them” and that Nagas will not be copycats but reinvent things and be productive. Actually, she believes that if “we Nagas come together, we might end up becoming best in the North East.”
Having so many years of experience herself, she insists on young people to take up part time jobs. The problem, she says is that we earn a little money and splurge it on nice clothes, flashy cars, that’s it and there are people who don’t even earn but have the flashiest gadgets. Regretting that we seem to be happy living ‘only for today’, she says “we have to change that and have broader visions.
Meanwhile, she thinks we’re lucky to have dynamic leaders but says “we also have leaders who should be a little more accommodative and include women in decision making” and excitedly adds “we might pleasantly surprise them…” and that, it’s not about disrespecting men or what existed but explains that “every civilization evolves and we should make changes.”
The future, she says, ‘is for you and me’ and encourages that every young person should go outside (Nagaland) if they get an opportunity. She expresses that “mid twenties is the best time to hone your skills and not worry too much about your salaries” but in the process start to be negotiators for salaries, and finally demand for it. “When you earn it, everything becomes so much more beautiful”, she opines.
‘It is important that you learn how to give back to the society’, which she explains may not be all about money but time you can spend with people, sharing your experiences. To which ends, she only feels that the only way we can build our society is by ‘staying positive’.
She also wishes that our children would read more, go outside and play more, be creative, get to know the neighbourhood kids, on which note, she rues that “you don’t see it anymore…you don’t even know who your neighbours are, we’re all strangers” and points out that the places we make friends may only be through the church, school, or work.
Her mantra in life seems to lie in taking everything in life as an opportunity. “I’d advise people not to be stuck in a rut, but go for it!” “Never shut doors, make a new network, build contacts” the ever effervescent lady says.
She looks forward to the future, to the many things that will happen and aims to be a change in somebody’s life, which, it seems, she has already fulfilled as the Proprietor of People Channel. Through it, she has already helped a lot of people to get jobs besides the numerous skills she chose to share on various occasions. She has also, recently trained the new batch of EACs on lifestyle management and is grateful for the opportunity to meet and share ideas with them, and to be a part of these new bureaucrats, as she says it.
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