At times, her heart was breaking with the loss of her sister and near loss of her father, but she pushed through.
When Van der Hoogen, 32, started studying towards her doctorate in computer science in 2018, she had no idea she would be faced with the death of her sister and critically ill father in the final stretch of her studies.
“In 2018, I was planning to start the work for my doctoral studies and was encouraged to apply for the National Research Foundation’s Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP)," she said.
“This programme is aimed at promoting the development of black academics, specifically black South Africans and academic staff with disabilities, by accelerating the training of doctoral and post-PhD candidates.
This article appeared in The Herald of 15 July 2021, written by Roslyn Baatjies. Read the full story at:
https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2021-07-15-team-effort-sees-mom-across-academic-finish-line/