A clean sweep!

Sthembile proves dreams do come true after graduating from the university where she works as a cleaner

- By Melon Radebe

She spent her days polishing the corridors and lecture halls of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), longing to be one of the students rushing between classes and swopping notes during breaks on the campus lawns.

She also watched each year when the students lined up for graduation in their caps and gowns and emerged with a scroll containing their precious degrees.

But for 14 years, becoming a student was a distant dream for Sthembile Mngwengwe. There was simply no money for her to study and she eked out a living as a cleaner instead – until an opportunity presented itself to her and she reached out and grabbed it with both hands.

The 40-year-old Pietermaritzburg resident is now the proud holder of a Bachelor of Social Science degree and she has a powerful message to spread: don’t let the passing of time define you. Your dreams do not have an expiry date.

Sthembile, who graduated from UKZN – the same institution she spent years cleaning – admits her journey wasn’t easy. Before she enrolled at the varsity it had been two decades since she’d last sat in a classroom and at first she felt self-conscious and out of place.

“Balancing work and studies gave me a lot of stress,” she tells YOU. “But if you work hard and pray, God will help you achieve what you want.”