Durban - SOCIOLOGIST, philanthropist, radio presenter, compère, mother and wife, Dr Sheetal Bhoola seems to do it all.
For her efforts, she was recently named a finalist for the sixth Woman of Stature Awards in Education.
Bhoola and 18 other finalists are competing in this category.
There are 12 categories, which include Woman in Community, Woman in Agriculture, Woman in Engineering, Woman in Health Care and Entrepreneur of the Year.
The awards were launched six years ago, but they will be hosted for the first time by the newly-formed Woman of Stature Foundation.
The finalists, who reached considerable heights within their careers, were picked according to their prominence within their respective communities.
They either empowered other women through mentorship or set an example for leading a purposeful life.
Bhoola, who was born in Port Elizabeth, lives in La Lucia, Durban, with her husband and 7-year-old son.
She wears many caps, one of which is a social science lecturer at UKZN.
Her key focus areas are sociology, anthropology and tourism.
Bhoola is a post-doctoral scholar at the Andrew Mellon Foundation Fellowship.
She obtained her Master’s degree in social sciences in 2006, and a PhD in anthropology in 2015.
Bhoola has worked on a number of research projects, one of which took her to Uttar Pradesh, in India.
The project looked at community life in the area, and how it contributed to education and skills development in the city of Moradabad.
In 2016, she published a paper with anthropology professor Anand Singh, titled “Culinary Choices: Developing Durban as a Culinary Destination”.
The paper explored a framework in culinary tourism, as a means to strengthen tourism in Durban
In 2018, Bhoola looked at the contribution of seafood to tourism, in relation to Chinese tourists in Durban.
She said Chinese tourism to South Africa was on the rise and China’s presence was evident at Africa’s Travel Indaba in 2018.
Bhoola is currently working on the Migration of International Brides within the Indian diaspora, in KZN.
In between her various research projects over the years, Bhoola worked as a TV presenter for Aum Presentations, a religious show on SABC 1, and was a part-time compère
She said she was a go-getter and never allowed herself to fall into a comfort zone. “I always push myself to be better and to learn different skills.”
Bhoola said she was honoured to be a finalist and encouraged other women to never doubt themselves
“Visualise what you want. Set personal goals and work hard for it. Little can be achieved without hard work. Your small steps will, in time, lead to bigger ones.”
When she is not working, she enjoys cooking or going to the beach with her family.
The awards will take place on March8 at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways.