Media Contact
Kenya King
Director
Public Relations and Marketing Communications
Perimeter College
[email protected]
ATLANTA—A midnight flight departure from Johannesburg, South Africa. More than 8,000 miles, two layovers and a six-hour time change.
For anyone, the long travel day would warrant at least a day’s rest.
Not so for Angelique Van Der Walt. She still had Georgia State’s Convocation Center stage to cross.
On Thursday, May 2, the Perimeter College online honors student completed that journey, joining more than 600 Perimeter College students receiving their associate degrees.
The trip was worth it, she said.
“This two-year degree is special,” she said. “It was important that I walked. I’m a first-generation university student, and it’s special to my family that I’ve gotten this degree—I’ve worked very hard to do this and wanted to do it well.”
A native of South Africa, Van Der Walt came first to Philadelphia to work as an au pair in 2020. Her second job as an au pair brought her to Atlanta—and that’s when she learned about the online program at Perimeter.
“When I found out about the Georgia State online opportunity that you could study from wherever that was so appealing,’ she said. “I had never gone to university and thought I would give it a try.”
When her time working in the U.S. expired, (the international au pair program typically allows a two-year stay) she accepted a similar job in Norway, all the while continuing with her online studies. She loved the flexibility of the online program, which allowed for her to enjoy travel and the cultural exchange program in different countries, she said.
But when her mother had complications from a back operation, she knew she had to go back to South Africa.
“I knew she would need a lot of assistance in recovery, so I had to leave the au pair job and return to Johannesburg,” she said.
At home, she got a job with a tech start up working as an underwriter, all the while taking classes and caring for her mother.
Taking classes online during South Africa’s rolling electricity blackouts was one of her greatest challenges, she said. She scheduled due-dates and exams weeks in advance, hoping the country’s power outage schedule would remain unchanged.
“It’s the norm in South Africa, and there’s shortage of power two or three times each day,” she said. “We arrange our lives around it.”
When her Perimeter College Honors Accounting Professor Jennifer Miller learned of her connectivity issues, she was astounded. She nominated Van Der Walt for the STAR student GRIT award for her perseverance and ability to maintain her composure—and grades—throughout this time.
The award recognizes students who faced numerous challenges during the academic year, challenges that might have prompted them to quit, to leave school or fail.
“She rose above all those challenges, however, displaying perseverance in impressive ways and crossed the finish line,” Miller said.
“I had her for both Honors accounting one and two classes, I conduct weekly optional meetings for students, and she came to every one, and stayed behind to ask additional questions,” said Miller. “It was an honor to recommend her for the award—I cannot think of anyone more deserving.”
Returning to Atlanta—and to the finish line—for graduation, Van Der Walt brought her mother to meet her former Atlanta host family. Despite her mother’s continued recuperation from back surgery, she travelled very well, she said.
“Getting to graduation day was not without its hiccups,” she said. “But it was lovely to come back to the U.S. and to Atlanta, and to bring my mom to meet my host family to see me walk across the stage—that was so important.”
-Story by Rebecca Rakoczy
-Photo by Bill Roa