“My father told me that my decisions would result in me being a nothing in life,” recalls Neil with some sadness. He only later realised that his dad was only trying to give his youngest son valuable guidance, but the young Neil was stubborn. “I really did everything the long and difficult way,” he laughs. It would take several difficult jobs and a terrible motorbike accident for him to acknowledge that he needed to think more about furthering his education if he wanted to build a career and achieve something meaningful in his life. By this time, he had started working at Santam Insurance, but right at the bottom of the corporate ladder.
“I was doing well but I got to a point where I knew I couldn’t progress without a degree. It was tough because I didn’t have the time for a long degree programme now,” says Neil. He started making enquiries and found out about Milpark Education’s Bridging Course, a short and flexible programme comprising of business numeracy and management, which upon completion, gives the participant access to degree programmes.
For Neil, who thought he had missed the boat when it came to tertiary education, this was the opportunity he had been waiting for and he gave the studying his all.
“For the first time in my life, I got a distinction!” Neil remembers. “It was a great experience, I had never done well in school, so for me this was big.” His family was proud of him too once he told them he had been accepted onto Milpark’s BCom degree programme majoring in short term insurance. “It was the best feeling in the world to be able to tell my dad what I have achieved and that I am not going to be nothing after all.”
He wishes he had known about the Bridging Programme ten years ago. “I probably would have had my master’s degree by now!” he jokes. But it has taught him that it is never too late to set goals and try to reach them. His message to anyone contemplating studying further – is to just do it. “Even if you messed up in high school, it is not the end, as you just need to be true to your dream. My dad constantly said to my siblings and I that success does not come to a person that sits on their butt, but a person that is willing to work their behind off to achieve what they envisioned. The only person that is holding you back, is you,” he says.
It is powerful advice from a man who was once a tow truck driver until he was given an opportunity by a man he calls his mentor, Durban panel beating workshop owner Wayne Atkinson, who started him off on washing floors, eventually making him workshop manager assistant.
Neil has come a long way since then and Milpark Education has helped him to make the most of his time now. A father of three, he aspires to be a mentor to others in his current workplace, Neil says he wants to leave a legacy for his children and to achieve greater success in his career. As National Motor Claim Specialist, he has risen to mid-level management at Santam Insurance Company, where he shares his passion for the profession and the company.
He says his online experience with Milpark Education was life changing. The course structure and content were easy to follow, and he loved how quickly he could communicate with his lecturer and receive a response to a query within hours. “But more than anything, the bridging course gave me hope that it was not too late for me, that I could still achieve things in my life that I once dreamt of.”
