Q&A: Usha Mathew
Usha Mathew, associate vice president for finance, is one of the women featured as part of The Signal’s special #HawkHerStory issue, celebrating Women’s History Month. This special edition focuses on the stories and perspectives of the various women within the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) community.
Read The Signal’s Q&A with Mathew below and see the other Q&A’s conducted with students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni here.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, on both a personal and professional/educational level?
A: I am Usha Mathew, associate vice president-finance at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. I am an educated and experienced professional financial and administrative leader. I have 27+ years of financial management experience in Healthcare, Municipal Government and Public Academic Institution. Three important principles instilled in my life are – love, learn and share. I choose to live by these principles daily.
Q: Who are some women (real or fictional) you look up to most? Why?
A: I look up to Mother Teresa most because of her unconditional love for the humankind. She walked the talk daily. Many of her quotes speak to me, as to what really matters in life most. One of her quotes is so appropriate, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
Q: What are three things you can’t live without?
A: My faith in Lord Jesus Christ, my family, true friends, fellowship and food.
Q: What are some problems you anticipate/have encountered as a woman in your field?
A: The two issues that I have faced in building my career were – inequity in pay for the same position/title and having to sacrifice family time. I thank my husband and my children for their constant support and encouragement.
Q: What advice would you give to the younger version of yourself?
A: Continue to love yourself, that is the advice I would give to my younger self. The journey of life is filled with pebbles and rocks, but you can make the choice to pick up the pebbles and pass the rocks to walk your way toward your goal each day.
Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know?
A: When opportunities knock on your door, open it! Opportunities are all around you. If you do not see them, actively seek them out. It all begins with you!
