WGJS Magazine 2018 WGJS 2018 School Magazine | Page 4

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Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen and the
beautiful young ladies of Wynberg.
I must say, standing here in the hall brings back a lot of
memories. From standing right here playing the violin,
creating such a horrible sound that was not so pleasing
to the ear, to trying to cheer the Kirsten team up to win
something. You see, Silverlea was the best team to be
in, they won … EVERYTHING! Every single game, every
chess challenge and the atmosphere was good! And
where was Kirsten? The last one. So, I would stand
here as what they called the “cheerleaders” to get the
spirit going after assembly. Then came the swimming
galas, where I would help Kirsten out a bit with the
swimming. There was no way I could beat Helen Slater,
I didn’t even know how to dive, but I jumped in with
confidence and … came last.
By the time I was in Grade 7 I prayed so hard that I
could be in the Silverlea team in high school! The Lord
Jesus answered my prayers and I was in Silverlea, but
then Kirsten came first in high school … so I never
won either way! Probably my bad luck! But I was an
OOKKKAAAYYY student, only won one small trophy
throughout my school life, so I was okay.
Ladies, your school years are the best years. You’ve
probably heard that before, hey? But it’s true! It’s the
time where you discover yourself and get to have fun
while you are at it. I remember in Grade 1, being part
of Miss Woodin’s class – she asked us to write down
what we wanted to be when we grew up. And I wrote
down a pilot. My biggest dream was to be an airline
pilot. Since that day, that was all I could talk and dream
about. The day I passed my commercial licence, a high
school friend of mine commented saying, “DO YOU
REALISE THAT ALL YOUR AFRIKAANS AND ENGLISH
ORALS CAME TRUE?” I didn’t know it was that bad,
so I apologise to everyone who had to hear five days a
week that that is what I wanted to do.
I’m not here to tell you about all my achievements in the
airline, but rather to teach you the beauty of imagination
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“Have courage,
be kind and
remain
humble”
and dreaming. Let me share a little secret of mine. This
is the day I started dreaming of the impossible. I always
dreamt that straight after school I would leave home
to study overseas as a cadet with SAA (as back then
SAA would send their cadets to train overseas). After
obtaining my licence I would return to South Africa and
become the world’s youngest female captain, starting
at SA Express and then moving to SAA. I would fly
the South African flag high as an international pilot
representing my country all over the world. After all of
that, I would come back to my school and stand in front
of the girls telling them my story, with the hope that it
would inspire them.
Sounds really silly, I know. But ladies, you should be
careful what you think, as your thoughts run your life.
Through everything that I have dreamt every single day
about, listen carefully to what had happened: After
matriculating at Wynberg High in 2012, I had to leave
home to complete my first licence privately in George.
Through the Grace of God, I got selected as a cadet
with South African Express Airways and by the age of
21 I became the youngest jet pilot for the airline, and
at that time, in SA too! I am currently a co-pilot (and
have been for 3 years) with the airline, and still have the
greatest desire to fly bigger aircraft internationally. If God
allows, it will happen in his time. But in the meantime,
here I am telling you the story, telling you to dream and
while you are at it, dream of the impossible.
No dream is useless or silly. Do not worry about what
others may say – believe me, being a woman in a male-
dominated industry, of colour and too young to be
anywhere near the airline – it is very easy to believe and