"Education is the key to success"-Lebambo

Marcia Lebambo outside TUT's Gencor Hall
after receiving her certificate.

Lebohang Pita
@LeboPita

Hard working, humble and God-fearing, Marcia Lebambo does not lead a mundane life. This flamboyant 24-year old does not only possess four different academic qualifications but is also a successful residence manager at TUT Soshanguve campus and a sensational current affairs show host for TUTfm live at six.

Lebambo hails from the rural hinterlands of the Mpumalanga province. She said she was moulded into the successful person she is today by her parents who do not have any formal schooling but understood the importance of education.

“My parents do not have a formal education but they knew that education is important in a person’s life,” she said.

She grew up in a destitute family but her parents always reminded her that “the only way to change your situation is through education.”

“The fact that I am from a poor family motivated me to work harder in order to change the situation at home.”

Lebambo believes that success does not fall from trees but to achieve your goals you need to work hard.

She said she had to walk many kilometres to school but decided to take the challenge positively because a “positive attitude leads to positive results.”

“I am very positive about life. I am self-motivated and I believe nothing will change if you do not change anything.”

She completed high school in 2004 and the following year she enrolled for a national diploma in administration management at the Tshwane University of Technology.

In her first year she befriended her books because she was determined to change the dire situation back home.

“I was bitter and frustrated. If someone wanted us to go out, I felt that she was wasting my time because going out would not change the situation at home.”

The flamboyant Marcia Lebambo in one of the residences
she manages.

“I had to manage my time. Even if it meant I lose friends, it did not matter as long as I got what I wanted (a qualification).”

After completing her administration management diploma, she continued studying because she wanted to broaden her knowledge and understand what was happening in other employment sectors.

“My aim was to enrol for more than one qualification. In my first year I passed all my subjects with distinctions.”

In 2008 Lebambo registered for a bachelor’s degree in strategic management before securing a job as an assistant residence manager at TUT Soshanguve Campus.

At the tender age of 19 she became permanent residence manager of TCE1 at Soshanguve South Campus.

Lebambo believes the current infrastructural backlogs in TUT campuses will change with time.

“The progress (since the merger) in terms of the standardisation of infrastructure and facilities is not good at all. It is going to take time but eventually we will have a situation where all campuses look the same.

Under her belt as a residence manager she has produced phenomenal people like Kutloano Mopai, who is currently Miss Gauteng and Miss Africa, through the annual miss TUT pageant.

In 2010 Lebambo registered for a Master’s degree in entrepreneurship and also possesses a certificate in business communication from the University of South Africa and another bachelor’s degree in Public Management.

She said it is important for residence managers to be educated because they would be able to execute their duties properly.

From humble beginnings to a successful life, Lebambo is living proof that all that glitters in the democratic South Africa is not gold but hard work always leads to success.