SAADP is thrilled to announce the appointment of Mrs Carmelita Lee Shong as the Programme Manager at the University of Cape Town. Carmelita comes to this post with a great deal of knowledge, experience, and passion for student development. Her extensive work in several programmes doing similar work to SAADP, means she will be able to hit the ground running.
Who is Carmelita?
In sharing a brief background about herself, Carmelita said, “I am the first person in my family to obtain a degree. I attended South Peninsula High, matriculating in 1992. The school was prominent in the student uprising and activism, as a result, I was aware of the social injustices and inequity in South Africa.”
“I completed my Social Work Degree at UCT in 1997 and I wanted to improve the living conditions of women, especially rural women.” she continues. “My career started as the Project Manager of the Domestic Violence Project at Catholic Welfare and Development. I then moved to Cape Mental Health and later, Lentegeur Hospital. At Lentegeur my passion for adolescent well-being started. I then went to the Western Cape Education Department working as the Assistant Director for Staff Wellness, Human Rights, Gender, and Disability (inclusive of learners). I then moved to UCT – Student Wellness Services as the Clinical Social Worker and Student Development Project co-ordinator.” she concludes.
Carmelita says her role at UCT allowed her to work with students from disadvantaged backgrounds and she developed a deep understanding of the various psychosocial factors which impact on student success. Using this knowledge, she then took up the role as the Programme Manager for Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP). She says it was rewarding seeing how the holistic support for students and timeous interventions resulted in students successfully graduating. During this period, she obtained her Masters in Higher Education, which focused on the role Computer Literacy plays in rural students’ success at university.
Responding to what she believed was significant about joining SAADP, Carmelita said she knew that South Africa is still facing the problem of the acute shortage of persons of colour and women in the actuarial field. As a part of SAADP, she hopes to change this. She believes that SAADP is instrumental in transforming the Actuarial Science sector.
Carmelita’s perspective on actuarial skills development in South Africa
“There are two parts to becoming an Actuary – the academic training and the non-academic (hidden curriculum), which is required to become an actuary,” she comments. Carmelita believes that students have the academic ability to successfully complete their degree. However, soft- skills, such as self-belief, understanding what an actuary does and how to find your place in this profession is something which students need to learn.
“There are also cultural nuances found in the actuarial profession, which students need to acquire to work in the space. They need to learn the professional lingo, build networks within the profession (which is not easy if you are a person of colour and/ a female) and must overcome the imposter syndrome. I believe that an organisation such as SAADP has a huge role to play in ensuring that students acquire these soft skills.” Carmelita concludes.
Mr. Nthato Selebi, the SAADP Executive Director, expressed his gratitude for the successful appointment of the UCT Programme Manager. “Unfortunately, the SAADP UCT Programme faced difficulties in the past few years, however, we have full confidence that Carmelita is the ideal candidate to assist in rebuilding the Programme.” said Nthato.  Therefore, SAADP urges all partners, students, alumni, and all other stakeholders to embrace and back Mrs. Carmelita Lee Shong in her new position.
