The Durban University of Technology (DUT) continues to commend all its essential workers for their dedication and commitment to providing services to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. DUT’s Communications team’s Simangele Zuma spoke to Ms Ntokozo Ndlela, lecturer at the Department of Applied Management at DUT. 

Q: Kindly tell me about your role at DUT?
“I am a lecturer at the Department of Applied Management, teaching in the Public Relations and Communication stream.” 

Q: How long have you been in that role? 
“I have been in this role since 2007.” 

Q: Please describe yourself in a few words?
“I am a passionate, hardworking and driven individual who is always striving to be the best that I can be.”

Q: How has it been like working during COVID-19? 
“It was stressful in the beginning but I am one person who adapts to change quite easily, so I am now used to the new normal and adapted very well to remote teaching and learning.”

Q: How do you deal with the fear of contracting COVID-19 and losing loved ones due to this virus? 
“I observe the COVID-19 protocols by wearing a mask whenever I leave home, sanitising my hands as often as I can and maintaining physical distancing when I am with people. I encourage my loved ones to observe COVID-19 protocols and trust God to protect them.”

Q: What is your daily motivation?
“Knowing that God has a purpose for my life keeps me going on a daily basis.” 

Q: Please take me through a normal day in your life?
“My normal day starts with prayer and reading the Bible or listening to a sermon. I then work on the To-Do list for the day as soon as I get to the office, followed by checking emails and responding to emails that might have come through at night. As a lecturer, my day is mostly organised around lecture preparation and facilitation, assessment marking, and some time is set aside for research in the afternoon.”

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
“I am an avid reader, so it’s not uncommon to find me with a book in my spare time but I have been focusing more on studying the Bible and listening to or watching sermons this year because I am very spiritual person.”

Q: If you had one wish what would it be? 
“To live in a world free of social ills.”