You can achieve anything you want to achieve if you set your heart to it and believe in yourself. This summarizes the story of 23-year-old scholar Musawenkosi Saurombe, who made history by becoming the youngest African woman to earn a doctorate degree.
The young lady graduated with a Ph.D. in industrial psychology from South Africa’s North-West University (NWU).
“I never thought I would be the youngest woman to have a Ph.D. in Africa. I never thought that at the age of 23, I would have a Ph.D. in industrial psychology,” she says in an interview.
Here are ten facts you should know about the record-breaking young lady:
1. Musawenkosi Saurombe was born in Zimbabwe but grew up in neighboring Botswana.
2. She was homeschooled by her mother from an early stage.
3. She obtained her high school certificate at the age of 15 from Legae Academy High School.
4. She gained admission into the university at age 16 to pursue a bachelor’s degree at North-West University.
5. At 19, Saurombe completed her first degree, advancing immediately to her postgraduate studies and receiving a master’s degree with distinction at the age of 21 before bagging her doctorate at 23.
6. Her PhD thesis looked into the talent value propositions for academic staff members in higher education.
7. Saurombe presently works as a postdoctoral fellow at the university’s campus in Mahikeng, where she is responsible for the teaching and supervision of postgraduate students.
8. She served as a postdoctoral research fellow at North-West University and was later a senior lecturer at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein.
9. In 2021, she was employed at the University of Johannesburg as a senior lecturer and became an associate professor in 2022. At some point, she was an ambassador for higher education in Botswana.
10. Some of her awards include Emerging Psychologist of the Year by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology of South Africa (2017) and the BRICS International Forum award of honour in New Delhi, India (2018).
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