Braamfischerville’s future chef and culinary star, Matlabjane Matapa, who is one of Forte Secondary School’s high matric 2023 achievers, says her last year of high school had been “nothing short of amazing.”
The aspirant chef credits this to a group of supportive teachers, great friends and environment filled with endless good memories.
With her number one talent being cooking and putting a smile on those who love to sample her culinary skills, Matlabjane,18, has her sights firmly set on studying hospitality management this year.
“My matric year was the greatest year of school I have ever had. I had the most fun because I had great classmates and friends, and lastly, the best teachers who made my school work so easy because of how they taught us.”
While many of her peers had a challenging year, Matlabjane, from Braamfischer Phase 1, was able to weather the storms through her resilient nature.
“I did not really face any difficult challenges besides learning how to balance my school work at the beginning of the year, and learning the skills to be able to study everyday which was hard at first because I was not used to it.
“However, as time went by, I got used to putting in the hours everyday. Other than that, I did not have any notable challenges.”
The 18-year-old future chef said as expected tourism was her favourite subject, together with mathematics literacy, history and geography.
Matlabjane said the biggest lesson she learnt was that, “I don't actually give myself credit for what I achieve and that I am actually good at. I have also learnt that I can do and achieve whatever I put my mind on.”
Her number one tip to the matric class of 2024 was: “Put your education ahead of your social life.”
She added: “I would advise the Class of 2024 to focus on themselves. They shouldn’t be worried and they should not care what their friends are doing because once you focus on what others are doing you won’t be able to focus on yourself, and they should always put their mental health first before anything else.
The Star
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