POLOKWANE – The 23-year-old Energy FM presenter host is on the airwaves from 03:00 to 06:00 every morning.
Born and bred in Polokwane by a single mother, Brenda now lives with her aunt in Seshego. After matriculating, she studied a bachelor of social sciences at Rhodes University in Grahamstown where she majored in organisational psychology, journalism, and media studies, specialising in radio and anthropology. She completed her degree in 2015 and graduated in March last year.
“After graduating I decided to study social science because I have always been passionate about the media industry and I wanted to have an understanding of how it really works. My other majors complemented the course perfectly. If media didn’t work out for me I would probably be an organisational psychologist, something I have great interest in as well,” she said.
She said like many people she thought being a radio presenter was easy, however, she soon realised it is a complex job title with many facets and responsibilities. “People think you simply come into the studio and say whatever is on your mind but this is not the case. My job entails informing and educating my listeners all while ensuring they are entertained. I love my job, the spirit of unity and family in particular are the best parts for me. Here we have an element of learning from each other while grooming each other as sisters, brothers, uncles and aunts. It is amazing to work in an environment which allows you to be who you are while learning how to prefect your skills,” she explained.
Brenda said she feels her voice, energy, and free spirit on air are what makes her unique as a person and presenter.
Her advice to those still studying is to not think they know everything once they complete their studies.
“The working environment has bigger challenges and exciting stuff to learn. See university as a foundation to the huge castle you want to build when you get to the working environment”
Energy FM is not her first stint in the entertainment and media industry as she worked as an intern at Drum Magazine and was the Social Media Manager at Destiny Magazine and Destiny Man, however, radio was her true calling. “After four months of working for the publication, I still felt an emptiness, like something was missing. This emptiness had nothing to do with the publication, but everything to do with my passion for radio. I was not getting any younger, so I thought the longer I delay my passion, the longer I would feel incomplete,” she added.
She woke up one day and decided to act on her passion and submitted her resignation. Today she is thankful of the decision to take the leap of faith.
“The moral of my story is taking risks might be scary but if it has to do with your passion, take all the risks and do what you love.”
