Teboho Malahlela
Teboho grew up in Soweto and she is a Speech Therapist and Audiologist by profession, who won awards for her 4th year research and community project. She has been working in a hospital setting for most of her career but she currently moved to working in schools.
How old were you when you decided to pursue your current career path and what inspired you?
I was 18 years old when I stumbled across the Speech therapy and Audiology profession.
Did you ever get help with career guidance? Any mentor(s) and what role did they play?
It is interesting how I discovered my career path. I was sitting next to a classmate in psychology, and I was feeling like I did not know what I wanted to do and might drop out. I turned to ask her what she was doing and went on to investigate. The degree was structured in a way that we needed to acquire hours of observation and an interview to motivate why you needed to be accepted into the degree. Through this, I met with very inspirational mentors and lecturers who kept in touch during my time of observation, as I studied and into work. They supported me via mentorship in areas that appeared difficult and allowing me to see the nature of the job.
What challenges did you face (or are facing) / had to overcome in your journey?
It’s ironic how I can say that university level material, such as manner of writing and language, was one. The other was the momentum, the pace was fast, and I needed more time than allocated. Another challenge has been self-discovery within the field of choice, I needed time to discover my preferred population of clients and context to work in. This field is broad, we work with a population from birth until end-of-life stage. We can work in a hospital for more acute cases, in the clinic for a community approach, in a school for literacy or in private outpatient clinics for long term care.
What has been your biggest driver/motivator?
My biggest motivation has been the change and help I can give to people, and observing the positive impact they experience in their lives. We always aim for a good and comfortable quality of life. This can mean helping someone communicate effectively in their society or ensure safety and nutrition when eating, or placing a child in the right school to maximize the child’s learning ability towards independence.
The other motivator under difficult situations is to problem solve effectively to assist the client the best way possible.
In short, service is the biggest motivator.
What advice or key learning points from your journey would you like people to take onto theirs?
It is important to introspect on our passions and aspirations. In this way, it is easy to overcome challenges like burn-out or mental health possibilities due to frustration of career path and growth.
Any advice for a young person from a rural area / township who currently has no clue where to even start when choosing a career path?
The advice I can give is that it is important to interact with people and find out what your interests are. Research what career options are out there. Do not be discouraged by affordability, look for financing opportunities and use the money for what you sourced it out for. The world is full of possibilities and there is enough for everyone. This means that you have a contribution to make in the economy and in life, we are waiting for your contribution.