Nicole Smidt was grieving and going through a lot of agony as she tried to finish her education, but she never gave up on her dream because she was determined to achieve.
Her entire family was diagnosed with Covid-19 when she was pursuing a degree in diagnostic radiography at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), and during this period, she lost her mother, grandmother and uncle to the epidemic.
She said her mother was in a coma and dependent on a ventilator to keep her alive.
“Sadly, my mother tragically passed away in the hospital two weeks after my grandmother. On July 20, 2020, she passed away.’’
She said her uncle also passed away two weeks later.
Smidt said she never got to hug her mother, grandmother, or uncle to say her last goodbye due to the strict Covid regulations.
‘’I never got to see them, tell them that everything will be okay. I wasn’t fortunate enough.’’
All this happened while she was writing her June exams; she also had to take care of her son and her father and focus on her studies.
‘’The passing of my mother had a huge impact on my immediate family. In December 2020, I was diagnosed with depression, but I still managed to pass my second year with six distinctions. Even though my mother’s passing affected me so much, I still had to pursue my dream, especially for a better future for my son. I managed to obtain a Golden Key International recognition award in my third-year, which meant that I was part of the top 15% in my course.’’
Smidt said the four years she was studying towards her degree were extremely difficult and almost felt impossible.
“The dream that God planted in you will always seem impossible until it is done. I am grateful for a loving family, my support system that never left me and who encouraged me to move forward and to never quit. We are all graduating, not just me,” she said.
In 2017, while improving her matric subjects at SchiMath Stellenbosch University, she fell pregnant later that year. However, she still managed to improve her marks in physical sciences and mathematics.
“I had to put my studies on hold in 2018 to take care of my baby. In 2018, I applied for diagnostic radiography, as it was always a dream of mine to become a radiographer.’’
Smidt hopes to motivate other young women who are in a similar situation.
‘’If I can, I want to encourage a young woman that even though you have a child, a family that is broken, a lot of heartache, a parent who passed away, family trauma, and a lot of pain, you can still pursue your dream if you want to. If you are determined, driven and dedicated nothing will ever be impossible.’’