Passion to help others
A PASSION for helping others is what led Motherwell’s Olwethu Sindelo to study nursing at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s Missionvale campus.
"It is something I have always wanted to do. It makes me happy to see people getting better,” said the NU1 resident.
The biggest challenge for Olwethu, who matriculated from Masiphathasane Senior Secondary School last year, has been adapting to university life.
But the 18-year-old Motherwell resident, who is in her first year of an extended five-year nursing degree at the NMMU Missionvale Campus, is slowly getting used to the campus hustle and bustle.
"It is a big jump,” said Olwethu on the transition from high school to university.
She has had to adapt from the structured time table of school to the independence of varsity.
"It is a lot different. At school you are spoon-fed, but at university you have to do a lot for yourself. You have to put more effort into it.”
Students also had to be more responsible as there was a bigger workload. This meant prioritising was important.
Olwethu wants to focus on paediatrics because "I get along easier with children”.
The student was one of only about 50 successful applicants for the course.
She said seeing the way some nurses behaved at clinics in her area had motivated her to be "one of the good ones”.
"I notice how they treat patients. I want to make a change and show the community that being a nurse means being there for other people.”
A big influence in her life has been her mother Thabisa, a domestic worker who works in Newton Park.
Olwethu said her mother always encouraged her to study after school.
"She is happy that I am at university now. My mom only has her matric and did not get the chance to study.”
Olwethu receives financial support from her mother as well as her mother’s employer who assisted in purchasing study guides. Olwethu has also taken a study loan.
"I am grateful for the opportunity and I am excited to experience new things, while knowing there is a responsibility with everything I do.”