Liselihle’s bubbly personality quietly fills the room. It’s not difficult to imagine this humble but firm young woman leading a classroom of overly-enthusiastic Foundation Phase learners to their full potential someday soon. Her gentle presence and dynamic energy speaks volumes about her passion for education and learning. As a Bachelor of Education Foundation Phase student, Liselihle is well on her way to making her vision for a future a reality. Mentorship played a role in the progression of Liselihle’s educational journey and her involvement in mentorship programmes has been a part of her development as a teacher.
Like many young people in South Africa, Liselihle’s journey was not always smooth sailing. Born and raised in Makhanda, her schooling career began at Samuel Ntsiko Primary School in Joza. She then moved to Archie Mbolekwa Primary School for a few years of high school before transferring to Ntsika Senior Secondary School, where her blossoming relationship with community engagement began. Liselihle was introduced to community engagement as a Matric learner at Ntsika in 2018. Ntsika S.S.S. is one of the five no-fee paying schools that form part of Rhodes University’s Nine Tenths mentorship programme. Nine Tenths selects the top cohort of matric learners in each of these schools and pairs them with Rhodes University student mentors. The mentors guide learners through the turbulence of finishing high school and preparing for higher education opportunities. “You get to sit down with your mentor and discuss - this is where I’m at academically, this is happening in my life right now…” This proved to be a key moment in Liselihle’s life as it contributed to developing vital life skills required to succeed in education.
“I felt great about it… You get someone who's already where you want to be. You basically get a student who is already in university so you get to ask a lot of questions. You get a lot of guidance - ‘if you want to get there, this is what you can do now that you’re in matric’. A lot of ways to prepare yourself to get where you want to get to,” Liselihle reflects.
Liselihle passed Matric in 2018 but did not get the grades she wanted which would meet Rhodes University’s entry requirements. She then decided to upgrade the results of two of her subjects, leading her to the GADRA Matric School. She joined the Rhodes University Bridging programme which enables post-matrics to complete one first-year university module while upgrading high school subjects. In 2019, Liselihle was studying a Psychology module at Rhodes University while upgrading at GADRA. “You’re basically a part time student - you’re a GADRA student but also a Rhodes student,” she explains.
Being able to access these opportunities to negotiate a better future contributes a great deal to preparing learners for further studies in a landscape of high unemployment and low throughput of registered higher education students. As Liselihle recalls, “I could have stayed at home and did nothing because my marks were not good enough to get in [to RU], but for you to get that opportunity where you can upgrade but while you’re upgrading you’re also getting a taste of university at the same time. That this is what you’re going to be experiencing once you're there full time.” Not only does the programme give learners a foot in the door, it prepares them for studies in ways beyond academic preparation.
“By the time you come to university you have all those tools because when you’re doing Psychology, you have access to the whole university. You have a student card, you learn about academic writing, referencing, and all that. By the time I got here in 2020, I felt I was equipped. Not necessarily fully equipped, but equipped because I went to those two programmes - Nine Tenths and the Bridging Programme."
In 2020, despite the chaos engulfing the world by means of a global pandemic, Liselihle enrolled as a fulltime student at Rhodes University. Although she had started Psychology during her Bridging year, Liselihle went a different direction with her full time degree. The Bridging Programme gave her the space she needed to critically reflect on her options and what she wants for her future. “When I got [to Rhodes University] in 2019 doing Psychology, I figured that this isn't what I want to do. I don't want to be in an office typing and stuff - I want to be out there, in a school, doing the same things teachers did for me, for another child.” Reflecting on her own past experiences with teachers who acted as mentors to her, Lisehlhle found her love for teaching. “I figured that I wouldn't have gotten to where I am if I didn't have those teachers in primary and intermediate school who actually show you that this is your full potential. Because growing up in the location is hard and it's not that great an experience. But to go to school and have those people who are reminding you on the daily that you can do this, this is what you can do - I got to realise my full potential.”
So what’s next for Liselihle? Liselihle is set to share her knowledge and learn from others on a global platform! The aspiring young teacher has been selected to take part in an Switzerland Exchange Programme for third year students, facilitated by the RU International Office, Education department and a university in Switzerland. “A lot of people apply and go through a lot of different phases and stages to determine whether you qualify or can go through. At the end they choose two B.Ed students and two PGCE students.” The programme is an opportunity for Liselihle to broaden her horizons and exchange knowledge from her home community of Makhanda with education practitioners from across the world. “You go to Switzerland for a while - I’ll be gone for four weeks. You’re a student at the university there but you spend most of your time in a classroom at a school to understand how they do things and to learn, to take some things from there and come and apply them here in a way that suits a South African context.”
If there’s one thing that Liselihle would like learners in Makhanda and the country to take away from her story, it’s that you should always be ready to grab opportunities. “Your background does not necessarily determine where you're going to be in life,” she says.
“Because if i can look at my background and actually take everything from there, I wouldn't have thought I'd be where I am today. So if you do get opportunities like these, don't let them slide, grab them with your whole hands because you don't know what's going to happen in the next few years when you finish matric.”