Keshia outshines her darkest memories

My name is Keshia Damases, a second-year journalism student at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust). I have always been passionate about journalism and media technology. I remember my teacher would always ask me what I would like to study, and it has always just been journalism.

However, journalism was not handed to me; it was a journey I fought to achieve. I dropped out of school in my grade 10 year, and I became a mother at the age of 17, which also made things more complicated for me. However, this did not stop me from pivoting 10 years later to become an entrepreneur in order to finance my studies.



Entrepreneur

I decided to buy a Real Good soup packet and chicken feet from the same brand to start off my sales. I sold chicken feet at N$1 and chicken kebabs for N$10 at the beginning. This was quite a challenging experience, but I remained persistent in hopes of what I wanted to achieve. The Real Good chicken products made this journey at a lot easier due to cost effectiveness and cleanliness.

Before I started this business, I often dreamt of being in primary school and high school classes, which was a sign that my studies and education were pending. This sparked more interest for this business.

The funds I raised from this business were to fund my studies, as I had a fear that the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) would not fund me, seeing as I was a school drop-out.



Varsity journey

In order for me to get into varsity, I applied for mature-age entry, and I came to write a test first to be considered eligible to attend the university. At the time, I had only applied at Nust as I was very sure that I would get into the university. I eventually got in and my journey began.

I am honestly enjoying this course as it has really improved my writing skills and it has helped me grow an even bigger passion for this course. I am really excited to see what the future has in store for me.