As a young girl growing up in a rural area, Tebogo Mashifana dreamt of working in a laboratory conducting scientific tests to help solve problems.
Mashifana, 34, is among a crop of young lecturers at the University of Johannesburg who are celebrated as inspirational for their achievements in academia.
Born and bred in Sehlakwane village in Groblersdal, Limpopo, Mashifana is a senior lecturer and researcher at UJ’s faculty of engineering and the built environment.Mashifana, who holds a PhD degree in civil engineering, teaches honours and third-year students environmental engineering and process control, respectively.
"They ran a spaza shop in our community, which they still have to this day. So we were fortunate enough that with that income they were able to take us to better schools outside our village and rural area."“This is where I saw through actions that my parents really valued education. I remember my father would teach me mathematics using small stones. We would sit down and he would take one stone and add it with another to show me that one plus one is two,” she said.
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