Dr. Nimshimla Pheirim: CEO and Chair of The Primacy Education Group, Inc.Taiwan
–Ngahanyui Zimik
Dr. Nimshimla Pheirim, one of the great young achievers among the Tangkhul Naga women and would be Trailblazer for the future Tangkhul Naga girls who are dreaming of exploring impressive career Opportunities beyond the Shores and beyond the immediate economic confines/limitations of India, especially in the Corporate Sector of China, the next great Superpower and economic giant.
I first met Achon Ashim approximately 32 years ago in 1992 as a six year old boy, when my parents had invited her family for dinner and later when I saw her at the Hailey Road Church in New Delhi about 13 years ago, I wondered how this young Tangkhul Naga lady could effortlessly speak such perfect English-tone, phonetics, grammar and accent. It was no wonder when I later found out that she was teaching English Literature at a University in Taiwan then.
Dr. Ashim Pheirim hails from a moderately large, in the context of Manipur, Tangkhul Naga Village of Hoomi, Ukhrul District, Manipur, yet, she is currently the CEO and Chair of a Taipei-based Private Company known as The Primacy Education Group, Inc., Taiwan (Republic of China), as well as the Principal of the Primacy Collegiate Academy, Taiwan.
Professional accomplishments in China matters, because, in a few years from now, China would most likely become the lead/ultimate destination for some of the best-educated youths of the Naga society, rather than work so hard to carve out career opportunities in the economically much-weakened hemispheres, on both sides of the Atlantic or the Occident.
Dr. Ashim Pheirim earned her Ed. D (Doctorate in Education), with specialization in International Education from the American College of Education (ACE), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA four years ago. Drawing lessons from the more advanced societies in the country, the Tangkhul Naga women of this generation are no longer enthused by the traditional or conventional jobs and careers offered by the Government or the bureaucracy, but, they are now intellectually and psychologically -gearing up for the exploration of impressive careers and real-life experiences or experiments in the Principal Megapolis of the globe, especially in the private or corporate Sector.
The 2.5 Lakh Tangkhul Nagas of Manipur, that had in the not so immediate past, produced the women trailblazers of Manipur including the first woman IAS, first woman IFS (Foreign Service), first woman Medical doctor, first woman MLA etc., are now generating highly successful young women, who are leapfrogging into and shining in the corporate rooms beyond the Indian Metropolitan Cities, ranging from the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Fortune 500 Companies (SAP) for the Asia- Pacific in Madam Chon Raman, the Investment Banker at JP Morgan Chase (the Globe’s largest Investment Bank) in Miss Shishak, a Tesla-driving US Federal employee in Miss Merceyllene Khapudang who is settled in Sacramento, California etc
As for her school education, Dr. Nimshimla Pheirim completed her matriculation from the Adventist Training School (ATS), Meghalaya and her 12th grade from the prestigious Lowry Memorial Junior College, Bangalore. Besides, Dr.Ashim Pheirim is the daughter of Pastor Ch. Pheirim, former President of the North East India Union of the SDA Church for the tenure 1995 -2000. Her father Pastor Ch. Pheirim was the first Naga and the first person from Manipur to be elected as the President of the North East India Union of the SDA Church with its Headquarters in Shillong, Meghalaya.
The seventh Day Adventist Church, though a Protestant Church, but organized more or less like the Roman Catholic Church in the form of a large and permanent Church Bureaucracy with a centralised administration in Washington DC, owns and manages nearly a dozen Universities and institutions of higher Education in India alone. The Church alone, has the equivalent number of educational institutions of all the Protestant Churches of the world combined. Some of the leading educational institutions of the Church in the United States consist of the following : Loma Linda University in California, La Sierra University, California, St. Andrew’s University, Michigan, Southern Adventist University etc.
So finally, back to the story. Dr. Ashim Pheirim has few and important words of wisdom for the Young Tangkhul women : “One Tangkhul woman who is still learning after all these years, to my fellow Tangkhul young women finding your own paths: degrees, certificates, prior work experience – all these become useless if we lack integrity, purpose, and a willingness to learn. So stay teachable. Work hard where you are, even if it’s not a glamorous job. Trust that God (and probably your boss too!) honors persistence more than perfection. Let our strong Tangkhul roots hold you steady and grounded even as they provide the stability needed to grow. Finally last but not least: Set yourself up to be able to stand on your own financially, emotionally, and spiritually so that no one else ever defines your worth.”
