‘My lecturer was coach, mentor and counsellor’

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Learning inspiration: Fatima Rhoda and her past lecturer at Boston City Campus and Business College, Nadine Kruger.

For the older generation, going to school was not exactly easy.

Schoolgoing children would walk many kilometres to get to school, and in winter they would put newspaper in their shoes so they would not lose any toes to frostbite.

Yes, the pupils of the past were prepared to overcome seemingly unconquerable obstacles – at least the way they tell it –by the way they tell the story all the while looking forward to having a good day at school.

Today we may not have to brave the elements or face the challenges our dear grandparents continue to reminisce about. But studying certainly has its challenges, says Fatima Rhoda, a graduate of Boston City Campus & Business College. She believes that staying motivated and inspired to give your best without slacking off can be difficult.

“I discovered that looking forward to learning with a good lecturer made all the difference in staying motivated,” says the 25-year-old, who completed her studies at the end of last year.

American author William Arthur Ward said that the mediocre teacher tells while the good teacher explains; the superior teacher demonstrates and a great teacher inspires. To Rhoda, it was important to remain inspired every day. while she studied towards a BCom degree in marketing management.

One lecturer made such an impact on her that she felt compelled to write a letter to Boston’s head office to inform them what an asset the institution had in Nadine Kruger of the Bedfordview campus.

“Nadine was extremely helpful and a great lecturer. She simultaneously fulfilled the roles of being a coach, a mentor, and a counsellor,” Rhoda explains. “This comes naturally to her because she is passionate about what she does and wants to see her students succeed.

She adds: “While we did study the prescribed material in lectures, Nadine always prompted discussions involving real-life case studies in the industry that always proved useful for our exams.

“This allowed us to escape the textbook learning mindset and encouraged us to think out of the box, to think on our feet.”

Rhoda’s results speak for themselves. With six distinctions in her final year – including an incredible 99 percent for Intrapreneurship – she applied for and was awarded a bursary by the National Research Foundation, again with the help of her favourite lecturer.

“To my delight, I was awarded a free-standing bursary to the value of R20 000 to study my honours in marketing management at the University of Johannesburg,” Rhoda says. “I selected this route because Boston does not offer honours in my preferred field of study.”

She believes her academic success is largely because of her amazing experience at Boston, and says that she learnt the value of having a truly excellent teacher there. She recommends Boston to anyone considering an alternative to traditional university studies.

“Boston is a great institution that provides students with the individual attention that they need to succeed,” she says. “The lecturers, like Nadine, are amazing, and the support provided to students is of the highest quality. It is a great place for anyone who wishes to further their studies.”