EDUCATION
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“A teacher affects eternity, no one knows where his influence stops,” US historian and politician Henry Adams once said, stressing the vital role teachers play in a learner’s life. For Mabore Sefara, live may have turned out very differently had it not been for one highschool teacher.
he 36-year-old Sefara would probably be out on a construction site planning, organising and overseeing all aspects of large and complex construction projects as a construction manager, which she had initially studied towards becoming after high school, before changing course to follow what was clearly sound advice. Thankfully, Mrs Boshoff, Sefara’s high-school English teacher, advised her to rather study communications after matric. “I think I had a flair for the English language and writing, but I also think my talkative nature played a major role in her advice. I’m still talkative – that hasn't changed!” Sefara tells Spot-On. She is now a corporate communications specialist at AVBOB Mutual Assurance Society and has been with the leading funeral company for six years now.
THE TRAIL THUS FAR After completing her NDip in Business Communication in 2010, Sefara landed her first job at the Department of Basic Education (DBE). She started as an intern in the Communications Directorate, which she says helped strengthen her character – from building a thick skin to being steadfast about what she wants to do. The environment also gave her a glimpse of the dynamics of hard-hitting news. “The year I was an intern, the DBE received a lot of media coverage and being thrown in the deep end was the order of the day,” says Sefara. “But because I have a curious mind and asked a lot of questions, this set me on a path of learning more quickly about the ins and out of media relations and PR as a whole.” At the time, the directorate had few available positions and Sefara was moved to a newly formed department to assist districts in ensuring that they met their mandate to provide support to schools. “That’s when my journey as a personal assistant began and, from there, I didn’t want to think being a PA was just about doing admin.” Ambitious and determined, she studied further while working at the DBE, acquiring a BTech in Business Communication and sharpening her writing skills so that she could prepare herself for a time when she may leave for greener pastures. Some of her responsibilities involved arranging events for the department, including izimbizo for the Minister throughout the country and the planning of district meetings. But she eventually hungered for a new challenge and a friend serendipitously informed her about a PR post at AVBOB. She took a risk – and left a government job many would kill for – to follow her heart.
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