Puseletso Mofokeng Breaks Barriers With Rise From Lab Cleaner to Associate Professor

• Puseletso Mofokeng joined the University of QwaQwa in 1999 as a temporary laboratory cleaner at just 19 years old
• Before university, Mofokeng worked on farms, cooked, cleaned and cashiered — and once could not afford a R750 computer college fee
• Her hands-on work in the chemistry lab sparked a passion for science that set her on a path to academic leadership

Puseletso Mofokeng began her working life scrubbing laboratory glassware. She ended up running a research centre at the same university where she once swept the floors.

The now Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Global Change at the University of Free State QwaQwa Campus joined the institution in March 1999 as a 19-year-old temporary assistant. Her duties were straightforward: clean the Chemistry laboratories, wash equipment, and keep the space in order.

From farm work to the laboratory

Before that first university job, Mofokeng had cycled through a string of low-paying roles, including farm work, cooking, cleaning, and cashiering. Money was tight enough that she could not afford the R750 fee to attend a computer college, a small amount that blocked a door she had hoped to open.

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The hardest moment came in 1998, while she was working as a cashier at a general dealer. Armed robbers held three guns to her head and struck her with a firearm. The experience never fully left her. She has spoken about still remembering the song that was playing on the radio during the ordeal.

A year later, she chose a different path and took the laboratory assistant post, determined to rebuild.

Cleaning labs led to leading research

Something shifted as she worked alongside scientists day after day. Mofokeng began helping with experimental tasks and found herself drawn into the world of scientific research. That curiosity did not fade. She enrolled as a student, committed to her studies while continuing to work, and in April 2011 was awarded a Master of Science degree in Polymer Science.

From there, her academic career gathered pace. She moved through the ranks to become an Associate Professor and was recently appointed Director of the Centre for Global, where she now leads research efforts at the institution formerly known as the University of QwaQwa.

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Reflecting on the journey, Mofokeng has said that no job is too small to offer something worth learning. In her view, every role, however humble it appears at the start, holds a lesson for those willing to pay attention.

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Source: Briefly News