ENGINEERING GRADUATE HOPES TO INSPIRE OTHERS

Chemical Engineering MSc graduate, Ms Letsabisa Lerotholi, is determined to serve as a role model for those following in her footsteps.

“My greatest ambition is to be an example to young people growing up in hardship and coming from previously disadvantaged backgrounds,” said Ms Lerotholi.

Currently working as a research assistant in the School of Chemical Engineering, she graduated cum laude in April this year with her MSc in Engineering, an impressive achievement in a demanding field that is typically dominated by men.

She has experienced her fair share of hardship in her short life and has had to rely on perseverance and self-motivation to get through the tough times.

Originally from Lesotho, her father died in 1998 and four years later, during her first year at UKZN, she lost her mother. Fortunately for Ms Lerotholi and her sisters, her father’s brother and his wife took the family in and became their guardians.

When she completed her Bachelor’s degree she still felt compelled to “learn a bit more”, prompting her to register for a Masters degree. She was encouraged by Professor DIO Ikhu-Omoregbe to follow this path which taught her to be self driven. “At times it looked like I wasn’t getting anywhere, but I persevered,” she said.

Ms Lerotholi now joins her two sisters who have also achieved academic excellence – one completing her PhD at the University of Cambridge, England, in 2005 and the other her MBChB at UKZN in 2008.