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Women’s Month: Pretoria Female Students
Today we introduce you to some of the remarkable female students at our Pretoria campus. They share their views on the role of women in IT, as well as their future goals as women pursuing careers in IT. We spoke to 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students who prove that it doesn’t matter what year of study you find yourself in, it is never too early to think about the future and with a career in IT the possibilities are endless.
“I chose to pursue a career in IT because the world is rapidly becoming more and more technological. The IT field is also very broad which means the possibilities available to me are endless,” comments 2nd year Bachelor of Computing student Angelique Wentzel. Miss Wentzel uses Women’s Month to remind herself how thankful she should be for the opportunities available to her today. “I am thankful to all the brave women who fought so hard to give all women a voice,” she says.
She is not inspired by one woman in IT but by every woman who has achieved success in the IT field, “I admire the confidence and strength of all women who have reached their goals in this field,” she says. On completion of her qualification she aims to become a successful entrepreneur with a number of businesses.
Twané Meiring views Women’s Month as an opportunity to celebrate women and acknowledge the struggles they have had to endure. She is a 3rd year Bachelor of Computing student who loves to find solutions to complex problems using her passion, IT. Miss Meiring says that although the IT field is still male-dominated, it doesn’t mean that it should be. Women have, and continue to do amazing things within the IT field. “The first person to write the world’s first machine algorithm was female, Ada Lovelace. Margaret Heafeild Hamilton was the director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory which developed on-board flight software for NASA’s Apollo space programme. If your passion is IT you should have an opportunity to live it,” she says.
Meet Mpho Makwela, a 1st year Diploma in Information Technology student who has a passion for animation. “I love innovation and animation so I chose to study IT because I want to learn to create 3D animations. I chose to study at Belgium Campus because I think it is the best school for anyone who wants to venture into IT,” she comments. Miss Makwela sees Women’s Month as a chance to celebrate women and embrace being a woman and everything that comes with it. She is most inspired by her mother whose resilience and ability to make something out of nothing moulded her into the woman she is today. “My mother is truly my rock,” she says. Post-graduation, Miss Makwela sees herself running her own IT business, with a specific focus on helping young, underprivileged women.
Otshepeng Mashele is a 1st year Bachelor of Computing student who hopes to make an impact in green technology and educational technology. “I am very passionate about the possibilities of technology and using my passion to serve is where my heart lies,” she shares. Miss Mashele hopes to move as many young, passionate people as possible to follow the IT path, not for the money but because they love the field and have a hunger for knowledge. She views Women’s Month as a time to honour every woman who took part in the march to the Union Buildings in 1956, a time to highlight the plight women still face today and a time for women to remember their worth. The woman in IT who inspires her most is Rapelang Rabana, the Chief Digital Officer and Acting Chief Solutions Officer at BCX and Founder and Chair of Rekindle Learning.
“She inspires me because of her intentional growth and impact in the IT field. Her passion for education and eradicating poverty is something we have in common,” she says.
Introducing Clarece Steyn, a 2nd year Software Engineering student who believes IT is the future and will not be left behind! Miss Steyn sees Women’s Month as a time where women can look to each other for empowerment. She is most inspired by her mother who works in the IT field and her mother is the main reason she chose to pursue a career in IT. “When my mother started studying IT it was taboo for women to study within such a field. She did not let this stop her, despite what people had to say she persevered and still has an amazing career in IT today,” she shares.
