When Zsa-Zsa Boggenpoel was 9 years old, her parents divorced, leaving her mom struggling to raise two little girls on a grocery store worker’s income. She saw how her mom struggled financially but still did her best to put food on the table and clothes on their backs. She felt her mother deserved more and promised herself that she would give her mom everything she deserves.
Born and raised in Hermanus’ Mount Pleasant, Zsa-Zsa’s plan was simple. She would do well in school, get a University bursary, graduate with a good degree and get a good job that paid well. This was what drove her to not only achieve those goals but do more than what she had expected from herself.
In 2003, she enrolled to study law at Stellenbosch University. By 2010, at the age of 26, not only did she complete her degree, but also an honours, masters and doctorate. She had not planned on completing a doctorate but she had worked so hard and performed so well that the university encouraged her to turn her masters thesis into a doctorate thesis.
As for those bursaries, she received a bursary from Oxford University, the Henry Arthur Holland Scholarship in Law from the University of Cambridge, and a Visiting Scholarship from the Molengraaff Institute for Private Law at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. But did she get a good job though?
After completing her doctorate, she joined Stellenbosch University as an academic where she became a property law lecturer and researcher, publishing several academic papers, contributing to book chapters and writing her own academic book. It was safe to assume that Zsa-Zsa had achieved all of her goals in her plan and could now keep her promise to her mom but being a hardworking overperformer, she wasn’t done just yet.
At the age of 32, the university decided to promote her to professor, making her one of the youngest law professors in Stellenbosch’s history. To become a professor, an academic has to prove that they are exceptional at what they do, and of course, Zsa-Zsa’s work ethic and drive to succeed turned her into a pretty exceptional person.
Furthermore, she was awarded the most coveted position in property law, the South African Research Chair in Property Law from 2018 to 2023. The job of the research chair is to provide solutions to property law in South Africa and create a new batch of young academics who can take property law forward.
Now, Zsa-Zsa isn’t just all about academics. She loves spending time with her husband and kids, and she enjoys keeping fit. When she was in high school, she played Boland netball at a senior level, and was even considered for the South African Protea squad. She represented both the Western Province and Stellenbosch University in netball, and has received honours from the University for excellence in sport.
The driving force behind Zsa-Zsa’s work ethic and remarkable achievements has always been to provide for her family, starting with her mother. It would be safe to say that she achieved that goal and her mother is not only living a comfortable life, but is proud of what her daughter has achieved.
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