Thirty-two-year wait to fulfil an academic dream

It is the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Madia Frieslaar’s wish that women her age are encouraged to pursue their studies when the opportunity presents itself. Even after a 32-year-long wait.

Frieslaar, who is a Campus Protection Services (CPS) site manager in UCT’s Properties and Services (P&S) Department, fulfilled a lifelong dream when she graduated at the University of South Africa (Unisa) at the age of 51. Her reason for choosing Unisa was because it was the only way to study part-time and still do a job in a career path she’s served since 1999.

Born in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape, Frieslaar matriculated in 1992. “Even though I was accepted into a social work diploma course at a college in Wellington, there were very few funding opportunities, so I could not enrol. My dream was delayed because I couldn’t get a bursary,” she explained. Frieslaar recalled that at the time she packed her bags and moved to Cape Town to live with her sister so that she could look for work.

She turned to security training, which was something she attained and started in 1999. In 2008, the company she was working for was on the brink of losing a contract, and she was facing retrenchment. However, things turned out differently: a post became available at UCT and she’s been with the university since then. “All these years I have been living with this memory of not being able to fulfil my career dream, until I realised that UCT could help me to make my dream a reality.”

“In 2017, I decided I must study because I wanted to be a social worker and the opportunity is available at UCT, but when I looked at my opportunities, there were requirements outstanding. I enrolled for a year to study English, Afrikaans and mathematics at a college in Cape Town. In 2018, I applied successfully for a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Counselling,” said Frieslaar.

You’ll land somewhere

“The degree was 30 modules, but I decided to do five modules a year, which turned out well as I got 13 distinctions at the end of it. I graduated this year, on 6 June. For me, it was a big achievement to think that a dream from years ago has been fulfilled. It was difficult and time consuming; however, it was all worth it.”

Frieslaar received great support from her husband who had to contend with his wife spending weekends at her work office to complete assignments and prepare for exams. During the week, she would wake up at 02:00 to work through study material until 05:00. There was no social time.

“The year 2021 was an extremely difficult and challenging time when my sister who raised me from the age of nine was diagnosed with cancer and passed away during my exam period. I could not write one module and had to rewrite it the next semester. I would be lying if I said that I never considered giving up. I reminded myself that I always tell my children never to quit something that you started but to persevere and reach your set goals. So, I was bound to ‘practice what you preached’ and set an example.

“I hope I am an encouragement to many women out there who still have their dreams in their hearts that still burn inside. Please take any opportunity that comes your way to start working on those dreams. No matter what is. And maybe you don’t reach the top, but you’ll land somewhere.”