Micheala de Klerk’s journey on obtaining her degree in Mechanical Engineering
'We get undermined because we are female' - Micheala de Klerk.
Micheala de Klerk, a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Eldorado Park opens up about her journey to getting her degree in a male-dominated industry. De Klerk started applying at universities when she was in Grade 11 and when she finally got accepted at the University of Johannesburg, she was not accepted to the course that she wanted to be in.
“I decided to write a letter to motivate why I need to do the course, I made phone calls, I tried everything, never gave up and eventually they accepted me. Just getting in was a difficult process and when I got in and I had to prove myself because I forced them to accept me,” said de Klerk.
The graduate explained that she had struggled with many things before and while she was at university.
[also read] – Showcasing a different narrative of Eldorado Park
“It’s difficult getting funding, my mother is a single mother and she could not afford to pay for my fees, National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) paid my fees for my first and second year, it was only in the third year when I got a full bursary.
“Another challenge was the transport to and from varsity, I had to take the bus to the Doornfontein Campus, I’d come late home and have to walk through the veld to get home, then I still had to study, at times I would also do my assignments on the bus to save some time.”
“My father died when I was 16 years old, and I always wanted to make him proud. After my dad passed away, I had a suicide attempt, God saved me, I ended up in the hospital and it took a while to come out of that depression, I joined ‘Women of Worth’ which is an organisation in the community and I saw that there are a lot of young women who go through what I went through and we are too scared to say anything because we don’t want people to see these things.
“I think it’s important for the youth of Eldo’s to know that we are not alone when we go through tough times, there are ways to move forward.
“In my second year, NSFAS pulled out and did not want to fund me anymore so I wanted leave varsity so that I could start working.
“I stayed studying but I also then worked weekends at a restaurant to make money. There were also many bad influences at university, so I had to remove myself from those influences because I had to remind myself why I was there,” said de Klerk.
The engineering graduate explained that she grew up with her grandfather who worked in a furniture factory and her father was in the air force so she grew up around machines and always wanted to know how they worked, and how it made life better for people, that is why she chose the engineering field.
“It’s an amazing feeling knowing that I graduated, especially when I think about everything that I have been through. I could also see how proud my mum is of me,” shared de Klerk.
Being one of only five females in their mechanical engineering class, de Klerk said: “We were always asked by the males what do we know about who things operate. We get undermined because we are female but I always stand up for myself.
At a point, one just has to focus on what or where you want to be. You get to the top by climbing the steps not analysing how to get up them.”De Klerk concluded the interview by sharing some information for anyone who would like to study, she said: “Try and do as much research as you can before you enter a field. If you can, try to job shadow so you can see if it is really something that you would like to do.
Sometimes we’re just afraid to ask, and we shouldn’t be. There’s a podcast called ‘Push Start’ and an e-book called Chow Course where students can find funding, and information on how to get into university. It is free because we would like everyone to have access to it. We don’t have enough career expos to help the youth, we have the facilities but nothing is happening. We have so much potential in Eldorado Park and we can do big things.”
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