From pool cleaner to PhD and published author: UWC's Mervyn Coetzee shares his story

CapeTalk’s Pippa Hudson speaks with Mervyn Coetzee, senior lecturer and Learning and Teaching Specialist at UWC

Listen below:

Mervyn Coetzee is a perfect example of someone who never gave up on his dreams, no matter how tough things got.

After his father's death, he was one of six siblings being raised by a single mother.

“I lived right next to the most feared gangs at the time.”

- Mervyn Coetzee, senior lecturer and Learning and Teaching Specialist at UWC

He became a part-time pool cleaner to help his family make ends meet. After that, he worked in law enforcement for four years.

Eventually, he realised his dream of improving his life through education when he was accepted to study at UWC.

He not only holds a PhD, he is also a published author.

His book is titled ‘Trauma, Injustice and Identity: Investigating an Egalitarian and Autoethnographic Approach to Analysing Students’ Personal Language Narratives’.

“The score of this book is centred around dignity.”

- Mervyn Coetzee, senior lecturer and Learning and Teaching Specialist at UWC 

Scroll up to the audio player for more.