Matric may be over but the challenges aren’t.
An interview with Nonhlanhla Dube of Boston City Campus
- Now that exams are over for matrics, after a horrible year, how should they cope with the wait until results are released? What challenges do you believe they are facing?
- Waking up and not having anything to do for the day. No more study schedules to follow, no structure to the day.
- Maybe not having decided on what next
- Waiting for results and the anxiety of what they will be
- Waiting to hear if you have been accepted into your selected course and the delayed start of tertiary for 2021
- The pressure of not performing well, and maybe disappointing yourself and others who believe in you.
- What advice do you have to combat the anxiety?
- Start making your plans and goals for 2021. Decide on what industry you want to study in. Complete the Career Compass at Boston to find your industry. Then establish ALL the options that are in that industry eg IT. If you are expecting good results in maths, the systems diploma is a great option. If your results are not what you expected look at N+ which gets you into the industry. If that is not an option, then there are other qualifications such as data capture, computer clerk and others. What we want to say is there will always be an option to get into your preferred industry!
- Remain active – you deserve a rest but you need to be doing stuff! Read, rest, connect digitally with friends. Look for work. Try get a few weeks of vac work – it will give you a reason to get up in the morning, a chance to earn some money, and an opportunity to network. And it’s great for your mental health!
- Be proactive for future studies – make applications, make inquiries and speak to counsellors. This will not just fall in your lap.
- Start creating a CV if you do not have one, keep a file with certificates and a record of all work you do. Ask for reference letter as soon as the work is completed – it’s easier than going back to ask after time has passed.
- Let’s address the issue of anxiety and our mental wellbeing?
- This affects everyone – we have had a nasty confusing and horrible year. Yes, we all have things we can be grateful for but 2020 threw us off our tracks. Believe in yourself, find your niche and have confidence, be kind to others and most important, be gentle to yourself. This is important advice!! You will feel pressure from school from teachers, parents and friends, they may have high expectations, you may be concerned about disappointing them. But there is always a next step for you. Create NOW plan B. and then create plan C. If you create your new options, you will feel calmer.
- How does Boston address this anxiety that students feel?
- Boston makes sure that there is a study opportunity for everyone, as much as possible! We provide free career counselling to everyone, with no commitment. We have established a Graduate+ programme to help with extraneous matters such as CV building, interview techniques, advice for employment and various learnership and job opportunities.
- Can you really say that everything will be ok when you don’t know what student results will be?
Imagine the worst, and then you can face it if it happens. If the worst is that you fail -then decide now on your plan B. Do you rewrite matric? Or do you try do a qualification for which a matric is not needed? Our advice from Boston is to redo matric. There are options if you don’t have a matric, but we do believe that if you have the capacity, it is worth investing in your future and repeating if you did not pass. And it’s NOT a big deal!
- There is a lot out there and the next best step is to speak to a counsellor and find out what are your plan A, plan B and plan C options. Then when you get your results you will be calm because no matter what, there is a plan in place.
NUMBER FOR LIFELINE 0861 322 322
Adcock Ingram Depression and Anxiety Helpline
0800 70 80 90
SADAG Mental Health Line
011 234 4837
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