Name: Nsovo Mayimele
Role/Occupation: Pharmacist
Country: South Africa
Nsovo Mayimele is the manager for the South African Pharmacy Council. As a professional pharmacist, she had previously worked in the research space, but working for the council has now placed her in a more corporate environment. A new environment, which she rather enjoys, “working for a national council is so exciting for me because I contribute to a cause that is bigger than me. Knowing that the effort I put into my work will have an impact in the next coming years has to be the absolute motivation.”
Mayimele’s school years were hallmarked by being in the science laboratory and after high school, she immediately went into the Health Sciences to study pharmacy. This is where she discovered her true love, “I loved pharmaceutics and found dosage form design to be very interesting,” she explains.
She has to admit that she has been fortunate enough not to face too many difficulties as a woman in STEM and maintains an optimistic outlook for the future, “professional resistance in the workplace is still in existence, but I am optimistic that this will change. If it doesn’t, I’m still determined to make it work.”
Her advice to young women aspiring to enter the STEM field is, “find your passion, once you do, pursue it with all you have… Voices will be there to tell you to slow down because you are running too fast, but set your goals and achieve them.”
Mayimele firmly believes that Africa is a land of opportunity and that STEM is a tool for progress, “STEM is on the rise in Africa. Africa has many problems, and the fun part about STEM is that we are about solutions. STEM is exactly what Africa needs to grow and progress.”
Mayimele is grateful to have qualified for funding from the National Research Foundation and Department of Science and Technology due to the quality of her research, “funding is a major contributor to kick-start a career in science and research,” she elaborates. One of the key milestones in her career was presenting her MSc research in Massachusetts, USA and then winning the award for innovation for her research.
As a new mom currently on maternity leave, she is trying to navigate through this new situation of finding work-life balance whilst taking care of a child, “I have an unexplainable sense of guilt when I have to work on my laptop and not spend a moment with my child,” she explains.
Her inspiration is the late Dora Akunyili of Nigeria, a pharmacist who used her knowledge for the benefit of the country and was recognised for her work in pharmacology, public health and human rights, “I would like to use my education and knowledge to benefit humanity,” she elaborates.
Read more about an enterprising pharmacist, Nsovo Mayimele in an insightful interview below.
Nsovo Mayimele was interviewed by Dhruti Dheda, the founder of the African Steminist on behalf of Geeky Girl Reality. The full interview can be found here.
Comments