Notozi Jennifer Mgobozi, a 75-year-old south African woman has been reportedly bagging her master’s degree at that old age from the prestigious Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
old woman earned her Bachelor’s degree from Tshiya College of Education in the 1960s and according to her, she was advise to become a teacher by Philip Saluva, her brother in-law.
With the degree she acquired, Jennifer joined several Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that focus on Education. She speaks more than four languages and became more passionate about teaching languages.
After several working years, the woman got inspired and decided to further her education in 2016 and enrolled for a Master’s degree in Education at Walter Sisulu University.
In her words, she said;
“I worked with ladies in Mthatha who had their families with them. After work they would go home to their families while I was lonely [by this stage she was divorced],”
“I thought why should feel lonely when I can focus on getting an education. I thought here is a university next to me and it is within a walking distance so why don’t I go and register?
“When I first told my family that I wanted to study they asked me when I was going to stop wanting to learn. At first they weren’t too sure, but they didn’t discourage me.”
Talking the challenges experience and how she dissert them, She continues;
“The first challenge was working on it while also juggling my job. From 8 am to 4:30 pm I would be at work, however, my hours were flexible. I would arrange with my academic supervisor, Dr Ntshanga Nqabeni, that we meet in the afternoons as I had work in the mornings,”
Madam Jennifer went further to appreciate her family for supporting her throughout her journey and also her supervisor who she described as very patient. “My family were also very proud. They feel the pressure as they have not studied further but we understand that we are all different and have different desires,” she said.
Mgobozi revealed that despite her age, she is looking forward to do her Doctorate (PhD) degree. In her words, she said;
“Education is so important. If you want to study then you need to set yourself obtainable goals. Once you’ve done that you will work very hard because you will want to achieve those goals,”
Credit: Scholarshipregion
