After completing her master’s degree in Public Administration in 2019, Saeeda Ismail, an alumna of the University of Pretoria, took on a personal initiative to give back to the academic community that played a significant role in shaping her view of the public sector. What started off with a talk at BAdmin Pride Day in 2019 and at the orientation week in 2020, progressed into a mentorship programme for the Executive Committee (EC) of BAdmin@Tuks, the society that aims to support students of BAdmin through its various portfolios.

The introduction to the EC and her involvement with them was facilitated by Dr Onkgopotse Madumo, Senior Lecturer and Undergraduate Programme Coordinator at the School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA). Becoming a mentor to the EC was a means for her to share insight and guidance after having walked the same path herself.

Ismail explains that the choice to study Public Administration is often accompanied by challenges of career choices, especially as students get to the end of their undergrad degrees. Not many of them know the opportunities that are available with their choice of degree and it often results in a stage of anxiety and uncertainty. She felt that offering her own experiences and lessons learnt would provide students with information, insight and guidance on the scope of the BAdmin degree and the impact of its application in the public sector.

The programme started off with a strategic session, where the EC together with Ismail mapped the structure and key themes of the programme. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions that resulted, content was shared online without any sessions taking place. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the EC continued to excel in their various portfolios, with the mentorship programme giving them a sense of higher purpose to make a positive difference within the field of BAdmin.

When the opportunity arose to meet again during Alert Level 1, a closing session was arranged as a culmination of the areas dealt with throughout the programme. The session, which took place on 9 November 2020, was hosted by Prof Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu, Director of the SPMA, and was programme directed by Dr Madumo.

The CEO of the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), Skhumbuzo Macozoma, joined the session as the keynote speaker to share his journey in transitioning from a student to a leader in the public sector. He shared key insights and reflections with the group and this gave them the opportunity to tap into his experience and extensive knowledge within leadership development. One of the highlights of his talk was on the symbiotic relationship between mentor and mentee, which creates the opportunity for both parties to share everything they know and to learn everything they didn’t. The engagement with the CEO proved to be both informative and motivational.

Angel Sebopetsa, the outgoing Chair of BAdmin@Tuks, says: “The mentorship programme and its areas of exploration served as guidelines and principles we needed to be enlightened about in the transition from university to the workplace. The fulfilling aspect of the programme was the transformation of the EC in terms of personal development and the platform it created to harness networking outside the BAdmin society. The greatest highlights was being given the opportunity to visit the SANRAL head office at the beginning of the year, and the end-year session with Skhumbuzo Macozoma, the CEO of SANRAL, which was further enriching to the team.

“The year 2020 might have posed unforeseen challenges, but it also presented tremendous opportunities to learn, unlearn, commit and rethink some of the things in our lives. It gave room for self-awareness and a high degree of being immersed in one’s self. BAmin@Tuks EC 2019/20 is grateful for being part of this opportunity offered by the SPMA. It is truly a privilege to have served in a leadership position where support for students is one of the pillars to bridge the gap between the students of BAdmin and its leadership.”