A deeply personal journey
- Wits University
Once a cleaner and secretary, Dr Millicent Motheogane’s drive to attain a PhD was a fight against poverty and a quest for representation.
Like many matriculants, Millicent had big dreams about the life ahead and studying for a qualification that would lead to a better reality. Her parents, both cleaners, managed to pool their savings so she could register for a certificate in Information Technology. However, it soon became clear during the year that the family was struggling with paying the remaining fees.
The eldest of four children, Millicent admits that growing up in Seabe, a village in Mpumalanga, she was unaware of government’s financial scheme to fund historically disadvantaged students.
“In 1999, there was a lot that we were not exposed to and that’s how I found myself in that predicament,” she says.
“Facing financial hardship, I soon started accompanying my mom to cleaning jobs and eventually started securing clients of my own where I would clean.”
While these odd jobs helped to supplement the family income, the young Millicent was worried that history was repeating itself. “I feared that this would be my destiny and that of my siblings,” she says.
A turning point came when one of her mother’s clients mentioned a secretarial vacancy at the Pretoria Zoo. Armed with her IT certificate, she applied and was hired.
With a stable income to support her, she returned to her studies and enrolling for a Diploma in Information Technology at the University of South Africa in 2003.
Although obstacles abounded, she finally completed her qualification in 2010.
“It took long but I did not give up because I knew my background,” she reflects.
With a firm resolve to break out of poverty – she went knocking at Tshwane University of Technology and completed a BTech in Information Technology in 2012 followed by an MTech in 2018.
She admits that the studying while working is hard and requires sacrifices. One of the survival strategies was to ‘close her ears to outside noise’ and keep the vision.
In July 2014, her efforts were rewarded when she was appointed as a Projects and Proposal Officer within the Development and Fundraising Office at Wits University. She later fulfilled a long-held personal ambition when, in 2019, she joined the Academic Information and Systems Unit (AISU) as a Systems Support Consultant.
"I used to pass by the AISU offices at Wits and say to myself, 'One day I will be here.'"
Her academic background, application of these to Wits processes and commitment to excellence saw her being promoted to Deputy Head at AISU, a position she took in July 2024.
Professional success informs PhD studies
Her role at AISU has been transformative and filled with growth. Inspired by the disruptions caused by COVID-19, Millicent pursued a PhD focused on how digital technology impacts student performance. Her thesis, titled Digital Technology Enabled Education: Exploring Digital Education Affordances on Student Performance, investigated how students from disadvantaged backgrounds coped with the rapid shift to online learning during the pandemic.
Remembering her own challenges, she wanted to understand how to make tertiary education more inclusive and resilient in the face of future crises. Supervised by Associate Professor Rueben Dlamini, her research contributed new knowledge in the area of digital education.
Dr Millicent Motheogane graduated in July 2025.
"I was overwhelmed with disbelief as I put on my red gown," she says remembering the morning of 18 July.
In contrast to previous graduations, this time she chose not to cry.
"I cried during all of my graduation ceremonies because my mom had died before she could see my achievements. She loved education."
She wanted this one to be different.
"I said - Mama, I started this PhD for you, but I am concluding it for my kids."
She remains deeply grateful for her family's support. Her father, now visually impaired, was present to hear her name being called. A mother of four, Millicent wants more professional and administrative staff members to pursue doctoral studies.
"We need to demystify PhDs as something beyond our reach," she asserts.
Her message is clear: "I want every girl and woman to know that this is possible."
She is in a unique position to encourage this movement as she is also a Hall Coordinator at Barnato residence where she is a custodian of Wits students, providing psychosocial support and contributing to a conducive environment that facilitates academic success.