Seeing her mother in her graduation gown many years ago motivated Livhalani Bridget Sinyosi to pursue her own journey of academic achievements.
Growing up within the light of her mother's inspiration and encouragement, she developed a love of books and set goals for herself of one day wearing as many graduation gowns as she could. Today she is living her dream.
Sinyosi, who scooped the 2020 African Union Teachers Award, has now added yet another feather to her cap after she obtained her PhD from the University of South Africa. Her research was titled Leadership Enhancement among Female Principals of Secondary Schools in Vhembe District of South Africa, and was done on 18 female principals around the Vhembe District. She believes that her findings, if implemented, would create a friendlier working environment for females in leadership positions.
Sinyosi is principal at the high-riding Dzata Secondary School, who boasted the best Grade 12 results in the Vhembe West District for 2020. She said that education had always been a passion in her family. "My mother, Gladys Shavhani, was my first teacher and she was to become my role model. She was among the first people in the village to obtain a degree. I told myself I would achieve even more than she did, to make her happy."
Ms Shavhani had a master's degree to her name when she retired from teaching. "She loved books and motivated me to read a lot, and this set me on this never-ending academic journey."
Sinyosi serves in many academic committees and has worked at different schools in different capacities. She obtained her teacher's diploma from Makhado College in 1993 before enrolling part time at UNISA, where she obtained her BA degree in 1996 and did her BED degree in 1999. Her Management Honours degree was done at the North West University in 2009. She completed her master's degree in curriculum studies in 2015, again from UNISA, before enrolling for her PhD in education, which she completed this year.