​​​Samantha Adams has always felt like a professional student. After completing a bachelor's and an honours degree in Psychology at Nelson Mandela University, she knew that would not be the end of her academic studies.

When she returned from South Korea in 2008, where she taught English for almost two years, she continued her postgraduate studies at Stellenbosch University (SU) and graduated with another honours degree, this time in Industrial Psychology, in 2010.

“When I graduated with my honours degree, one of my younger sisters was at the graduation as well. She asked me when I was going to finish my studies and I said to her, 'You see that person in the red gown? When I get to wear that, that's when I'm going to finish.'"

And on Thursday (04 April 2019), Adams was finally able to wear that red gown when she graduated with a PhD in Industrial Psychology at the graduation ceremony for Group B of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) at SU.

“I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to achieve. I wasn't always one-hundred percent sure how I was going to get there, but I knew that's what I wanted and I was willing to do whatever it took to get there."

Adams has been a lecturer in the Department of Industrial Psychology at SU for eight years. On Thursday, she became the first PhD graduate from the Graduate School for Staff in Economic and Management Sciences (StEM) programme.

STEM is a support programme that gives faculty staff an opportunity to work part-time on their PhDs over four to five years. The programme was established as part of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences' research strategy and in 2014, the first full-time PhD students started work on their three-year research projects.

“Even though the programme did not guide the process of my PhD, it was definitely a massive support financially as well as socially, providing an opportunity to share experiences with other people who were in the same boat. The PhD can be a lonely process; it can seem like it's an insurmountable project and I hope that through what I have been able to achieve others will see that it doesn't have to be this big scary mountain that you have to climb on your own. I hope that it will encourage my colleagues, and that it will give them hope that it is possible, despite the many responsibilities, challenges and obstacles that come with working and studying at the same time."

Through the support of the StEM programme Adams was able to take a year sabbatical from her lecturing work so that she could focus on completing her PhD studies successfully.

“I was lucky that my research was closely related to my teaching. Through my whole PhD process, it has really informed the type of lecturer and teacher I am now. Even though I've been lecturing for eight years now, I still feel like I can relate to the students. I still have an idea of what it is like to be a student. Hopefully, that also informs the way that I teach and interact with them and that it will help me to be the best lecturer I can be."

For more information on the StEM programme click here.