Rohita Juggernauth-Steffensen: Juggling career and physical endurance

Handling professional life and your passion is not easy. Finding an equilibrium is necessary to lead a harmonious life. Rohita is a role model for young professionals who want to live their passion without neglecting their career. 32-year old Rohita Juggernauth-Steffensen is a young professional who has achieved her objectives. Growing up in an academic environment, sports never played a big role in her life. When she finished college, she started jogging for fun on week-ends. However, that activity was not popular in those days. In 2008, she moved to Denmark and was surprised to see that cycling and running formed part of the local culture. “I found that I had enough time on hand after office hours with nothing much to do. In summer, the days are longer with sun shining until about 22:30 hrs in the evening. Therefore, I was inspired by all the runners around and decided to start running in 2010. At first, it was mainly over short distances aiming at 5 km runs but then, the ambition took shape gradually and I decided to attempt my first 10 km run,” she shares. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"17774","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-30206 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"223","height":"360","alt":"people-rohita-3"}}]]When she moved to Denmark, she decided to start running not only to adapt to the lifestyle but also as a means to build a network outside of work. “As an expat, living in a country with a different language, you often find yourself hanging out with only colleagues and friends. I wanted a bigger network and thought that sports would enable me to achieve multiple things: getting healthier, assimilating and networking.” She started running over small distances for fun. The year 2011 was a breakthrough, where she signed up for her first 10 km and first half marathon. This was a challenge both physically and mentally. For someone who had never ran much in her life, 21 km or even 10 km, seemed such a long distance. She recalls the day she ran ten kilometres. “I was so slow that I thought I would never win a race but I was definitely not a quitter. A few months later, I ran my first half marathon in two hours and since then, I have added a few more to my list. When you are ambitious, then you should always look for the next challenge. The next logical step after running a half marathon is to double the distance. So that’s how I ended up running for the Berlin Marathon in 2013.” In 2014, she did her first season of triathlon and did a few short distances and a few half “Iron Man.” In 2015, she focused on the same doing few half “Iron Man” distance races.

Her goals

From a career point of view, Rohita wishes to work her way up the ladder at IBM. “My most immediate goal is to get promoted to Associate Partner level. From a personal perspective this year I am focusing on running Challenge Denmark Half Iron Man on June 12 as their ambassador for the race and then race Iron Man Copenhagen on August 21 which will be my first full Iron man and the goal for this one is to just meet the cut off time. I am hoping to be able to complete the distance (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike and 42 km run) in 14 to 15 hours but time will tell.”

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"17775","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-30207 alignright","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"260","height":"380","alt":"people-rohota"}}]]Professional life

Rohita entered the world of shipping and logistics by sheer luck. Being young and curious, she always enjoyed travelling and saw a newspaper advert that Maersk was looking for MISE trainees as part of its global training program which included a trip to their headoffice in Denmark every six months. “I only applied because of the travel that comes with it. It took them a few months to get in touch with me for an interview and I was among a group of over 200 persons called in for a test as part of their hiring process. Never did I think I would make it through. Once I joined, I started learning about shipping and it is a very different world,” she says. In 2015, things took a different turn when the department she was working for was moving to Holland. At that point, she had already made up her mind that she would stay in Denmark but her decision was made easier when she was head-hunted by IBM to work as a management consultant for them.

Inspiration

Rohita is really inspired by the people around her. “My inspiration is seeing how far I have come and wondering where is the limit. It is the intrigue that comes with seeing how the mind is stronger in controlling and pushing the body ever more. My inspiration comes from the support and belief I get from my husband,” she adds. Till now, Rohita’s path has been full of challenges. “Career-wise, it has not always been easy to be far from friends and family. Living abroad is fine but you have to accept not being around for lots of events such as weddings, funerals, family events, etc. or not having family close by to talk to through career choices and options. With time, it also becomes difficult to follow and keep track of friends and family. Thankfully, technology has developed and helps to make things easier. But, it also requires that the people follows and evolves with technology as well,” she avers. Similarly, sport-wise, it has been interesting. “My body is built differently, my strength is much less developed and I do feel sometimes that I am at a disadvantage compared to someone who has been practising something throughout life,” she says.