POLOKWANE – Being a leader is often deemed as a job best suited to men, however, times are changing and women are proving time and again to have leadership qualities in all sectors of life.
One of the young leaders at Westenburg Secondary School, Isabella Makhura, spoke to BONUS and said being chosen to be a leader to her fellow students at school has taught her a lot and afforded her an opportunity to grow and find her purpose in life.
“As a leader, I have the opportunity to learn and improve on my people skills and leadership skills. I am the president of the Learner Representative Council (LRC) at my school and it taught me how to behave, as well as punctuality, discipline and to keep my marks high as I have to lead by example. Being a leader has its fair share of challenges such as jealousy from my peers and people not appreciating it when I perform my duties such as directing them and telling them what is acceptable and what is not at school,” she explained
The 17-year-old added she has learnt to stand alone, keep her circle of friends small and stay focused in order for her to achieve the goals she has set for herself.
“My roles and responsibilities include being punctual, motivating my peers and setting an example on how to behave.” Isabella wants to study accounting sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand after matric as she is an accounting whiz and her passion lies in the business world.
Her male counterpart on the LRC, Joey Matupane, said he feels privileged to work with a female leader.
“Working with women is amazing because I learn a lot from them. Isabella and I have been friends since we were young and by the Grace of God, we were chosen as the presidents of the school at the same time. This strengthens our bond as leaders even more and we share the same goals of putting our school on the map as many people do not recognise the potential at our school, all we need is patience so we can prove them wrong,” he said.
