A Perseverance Journey

By Dr. Rhinah Lutendo Singo

Dr. Lutendo Rhinah Singo, born and bred in Limpopo province, is a woman living with a deafness disability. In 2019, she obtained a Doctorate degree (PhD) in Environmental Sciences with specialisation in Hydrology and Water Resources, at the University of Venda for Science and Technology. Since her primary years, she has been passionate about education and enjoyed going to school in spite of the various challenges she experienced as a result of her disability. Due to her parents' vision and interest in mainstream education, Dr. Singo never gave up on her dreams and passion. This would see her years later becoming the first person in her family and village to hold a PhD title. 

After tracking and tracing down her journey and all the years she sacrificed for a PhD, she decided to write this masterpiece titled "A Perseverance Journey". With this book, Dr. Singo seeks to share her experiences, and how perseverance built her to be where she is today. 

The main purpose of this book is to encourage, guide, inspire, and sympathise with graduates who are willing to undertake a PhD journey, as well as graduates who have already started this journey but finding it hard to keep up with the progress. Some of us may find ourselves confused because the PhD journey ahead may seem difficult. However, others may get excited because they are already mentally prepared to face the challenges ahead as they want to learn new things that may open many doors of their careers. Dr. Singo therefore recommends that this book be a must read by those willing to pursue a PhD study, including those living with disabilities, to avoid most of the issues they may encounter as well as to mentally survive throughout the duration of their PhD journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dr. Rhinah Lutendo Singo
• Release date: Dec 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223716303

Book preview

PREFACE

Since I completed my PhD degree in May 2019, I had this recurring sentiment that always left me with a jittery feeling each time I think of the years I spent pursuing my PhD studies. I felt like I owe somebody or certain individuals – especially those who are hungry to pursue their PhD studies – every detailed narrative of my PhD journey. Therefore, I developed a passion of writing this book in order to share with you about my perseverance journey; hence, A Perseverance Journey was born. This title was also draped with a slogan as a subtitle, Breaking Barriers with a Disability.

The term ‘Perseverance’ refers to continued efforts to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failures or oppositions. It can also be the persistence in doing something despite delays or stumbling blocks in achieving success. Hence, most people when referring to Perseverance, will/may define it as a mother of success. It can be used as a way to motivate others to know about certain things and how to decide on what they want from those things. Therefore, this book seeks to showcase that no matter what situation you are in, whether you have disability adversities or you are taking too long to reach your goals, Perseverance will lead you to achievements.

The draping, Breaking Barriers with a Disability, explains the breakthrough of my PhD journey in spite of the challenges I faced as a result of my hearing impairment. A journey in a PhD entails a path that a career driven individual undertakes in order to have a successful career to learn new ideas, to create fresh knowledge, to discover new things, as well as to develop new skills. This journey becomes a way of telling oneself and others about the PhD itself and the various experiences, emotions and challenges along the way. Such experiences, emotions and challenges can either be positive or negative, depending on the circumstances that we may encounter over the years of a PhD study.

Generally, A PhD is described by academics as the highest university degree focused on original research, data analysis and the evaluation of theories. This usually follows after a Master’s degree, an academic degree that is undertaken upon completion of an Honours degree. In order to graduate and be capped with a PhD degree, the candidates must complete a Viva Voce or oral defence for their PhD. This can be with just a small number of examiners, or in front of a large examination panel, and invited academic quests or aluminis (past university graduates). The Viva Voce can last between one to three hours depending on the satisfaction of the defence panel. Once a PhD candidate has completed the PhD level, he/she is regarded as a Doctor or Doctorate because he/she has completed a qualification that awards a Doctoral degree.

The main purpose of this book is to encourage, guide, inspire, and sympathise with graduates who are willing to undertake a PhD journey, as well as graduates who have already started this journey but finding it hard to keep up with the progress. Some of us may find ourselves confused because the PhD journey ahead may seem difficult. Others, however, may get excited because they are already mentally prepared to face the challenges ahead as they want to learn new things that may open many doors of their careers. I therefore recommend that this book is a must-read by those willing to pursue a PhD study, including those living with disabilities, in order to avoid most of the issues they may encounter, as well as to mentally survive throughout the duration of their PhD journey.

From my experience, I learnt that there are lots of personal choices and sacrifices to be made while dedicated to a PhD study. It is time-consuming and draining and requires a lot of efforts. Other than insomnia, stress, weight gain and bulimia which I suffered, I also wasted time, months and years of not being with friends and family while pursuing my PhD. I used to work odd hours and travelled a lot, and usually felt drained to even visit other people as my time was limited. It is in this time of our education journey where we get tested mentally because the situation itself is challenging. I lost a number of friends because they did not understand the kind of busy life I was leading. At some point, I used to make arrangements with friends and relatives which I then cancelled at the eleventh hour. This did not sit well with some; they even started ghosting me to a point where communication from them stopped altogether. It was so painful and challenging, but I am thankful because this experience made me stronger to focus on my PhD as I was able to vent my anger on my books and improve my level of understanding my PhD studies as time went by.

One important lesson I learned from this situation was that there are phases in life that we tend to experience, which eventually shape us for new adventures. As I speak today, I was able to surmount the stress and loss of my friends and rejections I have faced. Although some of the friends I lost have detached completely, I was able to win back some of them the moment I completed my PhD as I had enough time to socialise and re-joined a number of social networks which I had ditched before for my studies.

I am grateful to have experienced a life as a PhD candidate because I have learned a lot, not only about my broad field of study, but I also learnt about human behaviours and the importance of family and friendships. I regard my PhD as a journey I undertook to re-grow and be re-born, because I learnt things that were beyond my understanding and imagination. In this case, I am wiser and stronger than when I was only still holding my Masters’ degree. I believe that as I have made it through these certain challenges, you too can make it better and perhaps handle it differently than me. I encourage everyone who wishes to pursue a PhD journey to do so, as it is a bosom of growth, both personally and educationally. I believe that this book will boost your motivation to keep up fighting for your education and keep moving ahead towards the completion of your PhD, irrespective of the challenges you may come