Sthembile Mngwengwe, a remarkable 40-year-old lady who worked as a cleaner at the university for 14 years, recently received her bachelor’s degree from KwaZulu-Natal.
Sthembile Mngwengwe, a South African national, received a degree in social sciences.
She described how she had to balance job and school throughout her academic degree, which made her path challenging.
She claimed that juggling employment and school was quite stressful for her. But if you put in a lot of effort and turn to God in prayer, He’ll help you get what you want,” she continued.
Sthembile Mngwengwe also explained that she was motivated by being on campus and seeing the gleaming offices professors occupied as she cleaned.
“I was motivated by being on campus too, seeing students walking up and down going to their lecture theatres to attend classes made me wish to be them,” she said.
Sthembile Mngwengwe who is a single mom of a 20-year-old Lady added that she wanted to set an example for her daughter that she can also attain a degree regardless of their circumstances.
The university offered her a scholarship and she quickly grabbed the opportunity.
Speaking further on her determination to earn a Bachelor’s degree, Sthembile Mngwengwe stated that she had always wanted to become a graduate but at the time of enrolling at university, her parent could afford to sponsor her education.
“I decided to study so that I can qualify for a better job because studying is very important nowadays,” she added.
Sthembile thanked her schoolmates for standing by her during her ordeal. They were younger than me, but it didn’t matter to them.
They still assisted me and gave me encouragement despite this. They actually treated me like a friend, she claims.
She said that she will now be able to seek out for a greater involvement with her degree, and her friends, family, and coworkers have been holding parties to honor her achievement.