AFRICA | A 38-year-old woman who worked as a Petrol Attendant to sponsor her education fulfills dream, becomes the first graduate in her family
A 38-year-old African woman named Masutane Othilia Sebetha who worked as a fuel attendant to sponsor her school has finally fulfilled her dream of earning a higher education. Her achievement made her the first in his family to graduate from the university.
Sebetha, from Gauteng in South Africa, graduated from the University of South Africa with a Bachelor of Education in Intermediate Phase Teaching. She said she earned the degree amidst different challenges but she pushed through and persevered.
Narrating her story in an interview with the university, Sebetha said she was raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet, and in 2007 she added to her family’s difficulties when she became pregnant with no means to take care of her child.
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Realizing the overwhelming burden of caring for a newborn and the situation of her family, Sebetha began hunting for job opportunities to support her newborn child and family.
She said she got a job at a local restaurant, where she worked for four years, and eventually landed a job as a Petrol Attendant at a local filling station, where she currently works.
Five years after working at the fuel station, Sebetha said she felt inspired to pursue higher education but was short of the resources and time to do it full-time as she was the sole breadwinner of her family.
However, In 2017, she applied for a Bachelor of Education in Intermediate Phase Teaching at the University of South Africa but was accepted to enroll for a higher certificate qualification.
Sebetha passed the higher certificate and enrolled for a bachelor’s degree the following year. She said the opportunity to study allowed her a chance to break generational barriers as she will be the first ever in her mother’s family to enroll in the university.
“I wanted access to higher education to change my circumstances. Today, I am the first to graduate in my maternal side of the family,” she said.
She said the academic journey was tough as she had to face her full-time job on one side and her academic work on the other. Sebetha said she had to make time to fit in her practicals.
Because her studies would not directly benefit her current employment, Sebetha said she was not entitled to study leave, leaving her to make extraordinary sacrifices, including being absent from work.
She juggled her full-time job, her responsibilities as a mother of three, and the breadwinner of her family, and at some point, she suffered from fatigue and almost lost her job, but she kept pushing herself.
”Giving up was not an option I was willing to take. I was determined to meet demands from all fronts. It is not an easy road, but it is worth it,” she said Sebetha urged other students to know that defying the odds is never easy, but with determination, they can overcome any challenge.
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