Academic achiever of the highest order
CAPE Town mother Nuhraan Sambo is a born achiever. Her elevation as Academic Strategic Lead at MANCOSA has its roots in her deep love for reading during childhood and strong determination to rise to the top in her career.
She gives full credit to her mentor Professor Kiveshnie Naidoo, Academic Programme Director at MANCOSA and Academic EXCO Chairperson, whose large shoes she must now fill.
“I am grateful to Professor Naidoo for mentoring me in academia and setting me on the path of career advancement which saw me rise within the organisation.
“My elevation as leader of the academic team, coming during Women’s Month, is a tribute to MANCOSA’s belief in the progression of women academics on merit, and the total elimination of sexism in the workplace,” said the mother of two girls aged 13 and four.
Sambo is thankful to her parents for placing high emphasis on their children’s education by ensuring they received excellent schooling. She matriculated from Rustenburg Girls High School in 2001.
She began her journey with MANCOSA as a part-time facilitator before becoming an internal academic and assumed a leadership role in 2014 and helped grow the team at the MANCOSA Cape Town learning centre from six to 35.
Her core focus is operations within the Cape Region and as such has to be innovative and creative. She launched the annual Women’s Leadership event which celebrates successful females in various walks of life.
“I love being able to adapt and re-imagine when working on various projects and thoroughly enjoy seeing the end result of hard work and dedication. MANCOSA has allowed me to develop a passion for helping students achieve their dreams and this gives me a deep sense of satisfaction.”
She is committed to helping women to progress, especially those in historically disadvantaged communities.
“It is important to empower people with leadership skills. I have worked with dynamic women from historically-disadvantaged communities who showed that despite the challenges they faced, they kept moving forward. Adversity only made them stronger.
“By empowering people, you enable them to make decisions, to think forward and to take up key roles,” she said.
Sambo likes to strike a balance by enjoying quality time with her daughters and family. She also manages to attend fitness class twice a week.
She believes there are ample opportunities for women to advance themselves and is encouraged by the fact that more women are awakening to the fact that they rightfully deserve to be promoted and have a voice at the table. She said women have the ability to “shatter the glass ceiling with their heels”.
“You only get to live once and it is up to you to make the most of it. Be prepared to speak up for what you want and to raise your hand up and say ‘I can do it’.
“There is no simple recipe for success in life. We go through different stages in life and each time the recipe changes. You add and remove ingredients as you go along. Life is not meant to be easy. It’s meant to challenge you for the greater good.
“Be proud of your achievements and gather what you need to from life’s tough lessons. It will only make you stronger,” Sambo said.