Christelle du Preez – a Good Morning Angel on her way to success

The Jacaranda FM team brought Christelle du Preez’s story to Eduloan’s attention as part of their Good Morning Angels initiative – a born teacher, Christelle was ready to start her studies as a Practiser in Early Child Development when both her parents lost their jobs and her studies hung in the balance.

Eduloan gladly assisted Christelle with a bursary to help her with her studies – you can watch how it all unfolded in the video below.
 

We recently caught up with Christelle to find out how she is getting along:

How is the studying going right now? 

The studying is going really well. I’m preparing for my finals at the end of this year – all my assignments are in and I’m ready for the exams!

We understand that both your parents lost their jobs last year – how are they doing now?

Luckily, my Dad has now found a new job, although my mum, who is a diabetic, is at home and is quite ill at the moment, so it’s still difficult.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to pursue teaching as a career?

You absolutely have to love children and want to work with kids. You can’t do this job if you don’t have that love for children in your heart.

As you know, August is women’s month, and it gives us as Eduloan great pleasure to know that we are empowering young women like yourself to improve their lives through education – is it important, in your opinion, for young women to have support from their families, their community and society as a whole?

Thank you! Yes, it’s very important indeed.

Who is your female role model and why?

My mother is my role model, without a doubt. She has always been there for me, no matter what. She has always gone out of her way to support me and give me what I needed.

And finally, since you are studying to become a teacher, why do you think education is so important, and what are the qualities that make a good teacher? 

Well, if you’re teaching, you’re helping children. And when you help children, it will one day help them to get work when they grow up. A good teacher must have patience with kids, they must be willing to help children be the best they can be and believe in them, and a good teacher will also reach out to community as a whole.