Amanda is an attorney from Cape Town. Well, actually now she is a community educational worker from Knysna. She is not entirely sure how this happened but life is full of mysteries. The short version is that she heard about Eden Campus from her brother who was working for Winwin, Steve Carver’s company in Johannesburg. She drove there to have a look in February 2006 and haven’t left.
Amanda matriculated at Herschel in Cape Town and then did a BA at the University of Cape Town in English, French and Italian. She took a gap year in 1999 but after wandering around London and Europe and not really finding a career path other than falling in and out of love, she decided to come back to South Africa and study law. In 2003 she completed her LLB and decided to do her articles when she was accepted at a very good firm, Cliffe Dekker Inc.
She still wasn’t sure if she really wanted to be a lawyer. Well, two years in a law firm cleared this up: She didn’t want to be a lawyer. So in January 2006 she had 2 degrees, spoke 4 languages and was a qualified attorney and still didn’t have a clue what to do with her life. Two weeks at Eden Campus was enough to convince her that for now, this is where she belongs.
She writes of her experience at Eden Campus:
My colleagues here are amazing and truly inspirational. The students are challenging but they too inspire and amaze me. Every day I am forced to find new strengths. My job description is amoeba-like: no clear boundaries and it expands daily! When I set off for work I don’t know if I will be debating the price of baked beans with the kitchen team; discussing the best and cheapest methodology to waterproof a pond with hardware stores; drafting an employment contract in accordance with the LRA and BCEA; teaching students to meditate/ spell/ analyse/ clean/ paint ponds; chatting to the mayor, a Buddhist monk, plumber or psychologist who might be visiting campus that day; or all of the above. It keeps me on my toes. I feel blessed to be part of such an innovative and meaningful project and am touched daily by the willingness of people who hear about us, and become involved and the students’ willingness to grab this opportunity with both hands.
Amanda, we salute you!
At Eden Campus in the Garden Route, students from rural and peri-urban communities in the Southern Cape are engaging in a unique experiment in integral living, learning and leading. Students receive full tuition scholarships and room and board for the duration of their studies which at present focus on marketing and entrepreneurship. In return, they help support the campus by working in their student learning businesses, and by maintaining their hostel through daily living chores. Together with visionary community leaders, internationally renowned academics, and seasoned entrepreneurs, these students are developing their own capacities and co-creating a vibrant, self-sustaining community.
The Foundation Year has been accredited by Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
source: www.inspiringwomen.co.za
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