MEET DR THAGALO THIBELA, SOUTH AFRICA’S YOUNGEST FEMALE MEDICAL DOCTOR
At age 21, she obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Wits University.
She comes from Violet Bank, a village in the small town of Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga. She attended Farel Primary School where she was smart enough and skipped grade 7 straight to Lehlasedi High School where she also did not do Grade 9.
“I’ve always wanted to do medicine since my days in pre-school. This dream almost got shattered when my Grade 11 results came back and they were nowhere satisfactory and this pushed me to do my best in matric in order to get accepted to study medicine. I attended all the extra classes and studied throughout the night with my friends. This paid of though as I ended up with 7 out of 8 distinctions in matric,” said Dr Thakgalo Thibela.
At age 16, she received a bursary from Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and got admitted to the University of the Witwatersrand, where she successfully enrolled for a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree.
Dr Thakgalo Thibela continued to work hard in a cutthroat field of study and her efforts earned her a Golden Key International Honorary membership.
On 17 December 2020, at age 21, she obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from Wits University, becoming the Youngest Female Medical Doctor in South Africa.
Dr Thakgalo Thibela is currently doing her internship at Helen Joseph Hospital and intends on becoming a Neurosurgeon in the nearest future.
SOURCE: Africa is Home