A determined 33-year-old man named Siphenkosi Nqoro has fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a Lawyer after he graduated from the University of Ford Hare in South Africa despite facing difficulties in paying his school fees.
Nqoro, from Qonce obtained his Bachelor of Law degree at the University of Ford Hare at the age of 29. Narrating his story in an interview with Citizen, he mentioned that the journey to becoming a Lawyer was challenging.
He stated that he started working after he graduated from high school to support his parents. Nqoro said he worked a 12-hour shift a day for four days a week as a petrol attendant at a filling station in his town.
A year after he started working at the petrol station, he enrolled at the university with his savings. “I started my full-time job as a petrol attendant in 2015 and the following year, I decided to enrol with UFH for an LLB to pursue the dream I always had of being a lawyer one day,” Nqoro said.
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”Studying full-time and working full-time has not been easy because sometimes I would work a night shift and immediately after knocking off from work, I had to rush to an 8 am class at university,” he added.
Nsoqo said he did not stop working after he resumed school because both his parents were unemployed, which meant that quitting his job to focus on his studies was not an option.
“I did not have the privilege of getting money from my parents every month. Instead, I would use the monthly meal allowance stipend from NSFAS to buy groceries for my parents and siblings back home,” he said.
Nsoqo stated that balancing his academics and a full-time job as a petrol attendant was challenging. He added that there were times he requested a weekend shift to spare time for his studies.
“To accommodate both my studies and my work I would sometimes ask my supervisor at work to put me on weekend shifts for my work hours not to clash with my studies,” he said.
He credits his achievement to determination, discipline, a passion for law, family support, the support of his supervisor and that of his colleagues. Nsoqo said their support helped him achieve his dream of being a qualified lawyer.
After his graduation, Nsoqo began his articles of clerkship with an East London law firm, Gondongwana Ngonyama Pakade Attorneys and he wrote and passed his board exams set by the Bar Association in 2023.
Nsoqo became an Admitted Attorney and he was sworn in as an attorney of the Makhanda High Court, South Africa at the age of 33.
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