South African Sanelisiwe Mboto has had her fair share of struggles during her young life. The 22-year-old lost both of her parents at the age of 12 and her siblings were forced to take her under their wings.
Mboto reveals, “When my mother passed away, I was in grade 7. She passed away on 15 June 2008 – exactly a week after my birthday. Ever since that day, my entire life had changed.”
Mboto had a poor matric year and her marks were below par and didn’t allow her acceptance at university. The only route to redemption was by way of upgrading her matric diploma pass.
Mathematics was her undoing as she failed the subject dismally.
Despite this, her sisters showed faith in her and urged Mboto to take a gap year and then try upgrading her marks. She eventually took the plunge and failed again. To add insult to injury, her family’s funds were running dry.
She took a second gap year, but also started working in a call centre during that time in an attempt to save up for her studies.
Mboto was accepted in 2016 at Durban University of Technology (DUT).
She said: “When I got to DUT, I was fuelled with the hunger to succeed. For me attending every lecture and tutorial was of vital importance because I knew the sacrifices that I had made to earn a seat in this institution. I began to regain my confidence. At that moment I reminded myself that I was born to be great.”
As reported by the DUT’s website, the hard work immediately paid off as she achieved distinctions in 8 out of the 10 subjects in her first year.
In her second year, she was shortlisted and chosen to participate in an exchange program to study for a semester in Germany.
Her remarkable time at DUT was eventually capped off in fine style as she graduated first class with a National Diploma in Public Relations and Communication Management.