Earlier this year, we spoke to Boitumelo, a Biomedical Engineer from South Africa. Boitumelo Lekhoe has had a rather unconventional STEM journey. She knew she wanted to be an engineer from a very young age and so worked very hard in high school to get into her desired engineering course at the appropriate university.
Name: Boitumelo Lekhoe
Role/Occupation: Biomedical Engineer
Country: South Africa
Boitumelo Lekhoe has had a rather unconventional STEM journey. She knew she wanted to be an engineer from a very young age and so worked very hard in high school to get into her desired engineering course at the appropriate university. Whilst in the first year of her undergraduate degree, she sadly realised that course did not meet her requirements, bust instead of being disheartened she took the brave step of packing her bags and moving to Turkey to study biomedical engineering. She went on to graduate with honours. Lekhoe then pursued her master’ degree in the UK where she graduated with Commendation. She dreamt of working for the UK National Health Services (NHS), but despite been invited for interviews from hospitals and been told that she was a very good candidate, she surprisingly never got the jobs. However, Lekhoe is not one to give up and returned to South Africa, where she received a job offer within a week of her return.
She now works as a medical field service engineer specializing in medical imaging and is responsible for the maintenance of high-end imaging technology, an opportunity she feels she would have never had in a hospital setting. The thought of knowing that the problems she solves will enable a medical practitioner to better diagnose patients and save lives gives her immense satisfaction, “I know that any work I do on the machinery has a palpable impact on my community.”
As a young woman of colour in STEM, Lekhoe has sometimes had to face discrimination, from being overlooked for learning and developmental opportunities due to her gender to sometimes being mistaken for a patient at hospitals despite wearing her work gear and carrying her toolbox. But she does not let these instances get the better of her, she feels that “such encounters reaffirm the fact that I am called for such a time as this, trailblazing the path for others like me and redefining the faces of medical engineering.” Her advice to young women aspiring to enter the STEM field is to let go of fear and just start, “understand that some people harbour unconscious bias but do not let it corrode the path you have set out for yourself. Stop doubting yourself and just start. Apply to those programmes, apply to those jobs. You must start somewhere.”
She has a positive outlook for Africa and the growth of STEM on the continent, she feels that although, “we may currently lack the resources to advance or accelerate our abilities to pursue our aspirations… Africa is growing and so are its people, and I do believe that in future, we will make it a land of possibility.”
Read more about this driven young Geeky Girl, who sometimes playfully refers to herself as a fancy mechanic, but is in fact a trailblazer, engineering the pathway in STEM, not only for herself but for the many women who will come after her.
1. Describe what your work entails.
I work as a medical field service engineer specializing in medical imaging. The primary imaging modality I work on is CT and occasionally MRI systems. My work entails visiting different radiology sites to render technical product support. Depending on the reason for my site visit, I can find myself performing a wide variety of tasks such as, but not limited to, repairs and replacements of parts, troubleshooting, quality assurance, technical training, and application software updates. Additionally, I take part in installations, planned preventative maintenance and warranty services. People just call me a fancy mechanic.
2. Describe your STEM journey.
Mine has been an unconventional journey. I knew I wanted to be an engineer when I was 16. I did not necessarily know what that would entail or how I would achieve that dream, but I knew I would be one, one day. So I worked hard in high school to get into the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the only school that offered biomedical engineering at the time. I sadly discovered that their programme was a pre-professional qualification and that post-graduation, I would not be eligible for any professional registration based on the degree alone nor would I have been able to practice with it. Instead, I would have had to study either medicine, electrical engineering, or physics to supplement my degree. I did not want that.
So, after my first year, I left the institution, took a three-month break, packed up my bags and moved to Turkey where I studied biomedical engineering and graduated with honours. I then applied to pursue my master’s degree in the United Kingdom (UK) where I graduated with Commendation.
My dream was to work for the National Health Services (NHS), the umbrella term for the state-funded healthcare systems of the UK. I hoped to work as a graduate engineer in their clinical engineering departments. I would have been responsible for managing a variety of primary care medical equipment in their hospitals. I got invited for interviews from hospitals in Scotland, Wales and England, and although they said I was a very good candidate, I never got the job.
I, dishearteningly, packed my bags and left the country. I moved back to South Africa and within a week, I had received an offer from the company I currently work for. I am now responsible for the maintenance of high-end imaging technology that I would not have had the opportunity to learn about had I worked in a hospital setting.
3. What excites you about your job? What motivates you to get out of bed every morning?
Waking up each morning knowing that I will solve a problem that will allow a medical practitioner to better diagnose patients and hopefully develop a prognosis that betters their lives gives me great satisfaction. As the accuracy and reliability of a diagnosis rely on medical imaging equipment that is maintained in pristine condition, I know that any work I do on the machinery has a palpable impact on my community.
4. How would you describe your experience as a woman in the STEM space?
The truth is that I am a black woman in engineering. I am a minority. Traditionally, the field of engineering has been very male-dominated and the percentage of female engineers in the workplace are substantially lower than I believe it should be. For this reason, my experience has not been unique.
It has had its good and less than ideal days. It always brightens up my day when I have a few people walk up to me and express their delight at the sight of a young black woman in this field. But you also have those who still uphold outmoded ideals to the point where they feel the need to undermine me based on my gender. From assuming that I am a patient even though I have work merch on and a toolbox, to occasionally being looked over for learning and developmental opportunities because it is assumed that a woman cannot handle the intensity of the task. But such encounters reaffirm the fact that I am called for such a time as this, trailblazing the path for others like me and redefining the faces of medical engineering.
5. What advice would you give to young women aspiring to enter the STEM field?
If this is the path you want to walk, know that it is less travelled. You must be willing to push past gender stereotypes and the fear of being the minority. Even more challenging than getting into the industry will be staying in it, you will continuously be faced with actions and opinions of those who are implicitly prejudiced against women in fields dominated by men. My advice to the young women hoping to pursue careers in these fields would be to show up in excellence. Many can argue that you are a woman or that you are inexperienced, but no one can argue excellence. Show up in the face of opposition and do the best that you can. Understand that some people harbour unconscious bias but do not let it corrode the path you have set out for yourself. Stop doubting yourself and just start. Apply to those programmes, apply to those jobs. You must start somewhere.
6. As a STEM woman in Africa, how do you foresee the growth and progress of STEM on the continent? Is Africa a “land of opportunity”?
I think the systems that govern us, in Africa, short-changes the majority of our people. And whilst the conditions around us seem hostile for any form of growth or development, we must not stop dreaming and innovating! I constantly imagine a time when it becomes the norm for African-led science to inform policy and current practices in medicine. Mobile clinics are slowly becoming the norm in certain parts of Africa but imagine the fitting state of the art CTs in those and negating the need for those residing in remote parts of SA to travel far for medical attention. Pair that together with some of the drone technology we see being tested for remote medical supply and prescription delivery, and I believe we will be on the right path towards improving the health and wellbeing of our society.
We all have a part to play in making this a reality and my hope is that we can put our heads together, challenge the current systems that seem to cripple our progress and ultimately make a difference. Having lived abroad for seven years and fostered relationships with other Africans, I know without a doubt that Africans are brilliant.
We may currently lack the resources to advance or accelerate our abilities to pursue our aspirations. However, Africa is growing and so are its people, and I do believe that in future, we will make it a land of possibility.
7. Have there been any milestone moments or eureka moments in your career?
I have been practising for a year so I wouldn’t say there has been an “aha” moment for me yet. However, there has been a personal/professional milestone. I witnessed a senior male colleague undermine the abilities of a female trainee. I battled within myself whether to speak out or keep to myself, but I ended up speaking up. That was a moment that completely shifted my mindset and reminded me to always extend a hand to those that come after me. We cannot afford to watch young women leave these fields because they are deemed inadequate. I was reminded then that we must shift the possibilities of what a woman can do within the STEM revolution. We need to completely disrupt the ecosystem that is preventing women from persisting into and staying in STEM careers.
8. How do you maintain a work-life balance?
I am ashamed to say this, but this is the one thing I have struggled with. I have struggled to understand that there is unfortunately no balance for me at this moment. I give fully to what I can when I can. However, one method that I have tried to adopt is to isolate my career and home life. I honour the time I spend with my family and do not pick up my work phone unless I am on call. I am slowly realizing that I can do everything, but I am not always able to do it all at once.
9. Who is your role model? Who inspires you?’
I would say women in the same career trajectory as myself who are defying the narratives that are continuously defined for them and thereby levelling the playing fields for women like me who are just starting out inspire me the most.
If I had to choose a role model, I would say Dr Kopano Matlwa-Mabaso. She and a colleague entered and won the first-ever Aspen Ideas Award. Their idea was to “set up mobile ultrasound scan clinics in remote parts of low-income settings so that antenatal healthcare would be made more easily accessible to pregnant women who cannot ordinarily access this basic but life-saving preventative healthcare service.”
I, too, hope to be part of a team that offers specialized healthcare solutions for our continent. I hope to help combat the skyrocketing number of (antenatal) deaths in our communities through wide access to mobilized medical imaging systems.
10. Where can more information or insight into your work be found?
Twitter Handle: I do not have Twitter but you can follow my journey on Instagram @boitumelo_lekhoe
Boitumelo Lekhoe interviewed by Dhruti Dheda
Dhruti Dheda is a Chemical Engineer with a strong interest in media and communication. She is the editor of the Engineers without Borders South Africa Newsletter and the Community Manager – South Africa and Regional Outreach for Geeky Girl Reality. If you wish to collaborate or network, contact her at [email protected] or find her on Twitter @dhrutidd
