Nicole Smidt suffered immense loss and overcame great difficulty over the past few years but despite the heartache and pain, never gave up on her dream and excelled.
In June 2020, during her second year of her BSc: Diagnostic Radiography studies, her entire household was diagnosed with Covid-19.
“My mother, grandmother (mother’s mom), aunty (mother’s sister), and uncle (mother’s brother) got admitted to hospital. On the 6th of July my grandma, who was living with us at the time, passed away due to Covid-19 in hospital.
“My mother was in a coma, lying on a ventilator relying on it for her dear life. Two weeks after my grandmother’s passing, my mother unfortunately also passed away in hospital. She passed away on the 20th of July 2020.”
Two weeks later her uncle also died.
“I never got to hug my mother, grandmother, or uncle goodbye. As there were strict lockdown rules in place. I never got to see them, tell them that everything will be okay. I wasn’t fortunate enough.”
She said everything happened while she was writing her June exams. She 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.”
Nicole passed her third-year with distinctions in all seven of her subjects and earned three distinctions in her final year.
She is now completing her community service at Worcester Hospital.
“The four years of my degree were extremely difficult, it 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 ever left me and who encouraged me to move forward and to never quit. We are all graduating, not just me.”
Nicole, who hails from Robertson, matriculated in 2016 and enrolled for the SchiMathUS programme at Stellenbosch University, hoping to improve her marks.
“In 2017 I got into SchiMathUS and fell pregnant later that year. I still managed to better my marks in physical sciences and mathematics. I had to put my studies on hold in 2018 to care of my baby as well as provide for him. In 2018 I applied for Diagnostic Radiography as it was always a dream of mine to become a radiographer.”
She said her aunt, Dr Lizel Hudson (Coordinator: Work-integrated Learning and Language in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences) served as her motivation and role-model.
Nicole hopes to motivate other young women 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.”
Written by Ilse Fredericks
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