WAPAD ALUMNA FINDS HER PASSION

Megan Grobler

@megan.gro_bler

Denise Steffens, a former student at the North-West University and former Wapad member, has many accomplishments after completing her Honours in Journalism and Media Studies during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

Steffens initially joined Wapad to achieve her academic goals. However, she has since realised that it was about more than that, “If I reflect today, I think what drew me to Wapad was slightly deeper; the family culture in the newsroom, and the fact that we all became best friends even though we were ‘the misfits of the misfits’. It was the coolest thing to tell the students and the people about Potchefstroom’s adventurous and dramatic stories.”

Steffens stated that her time at Wapad was “unforgettable.” She talked about her favourite memories, including “the late layout nights on Mondays where we drank lots of red wine and laughed” and times when they just managed to make deadlines. 

“I would advise any student to join Wapad,” she said. She further advised any Wapaders to “follow the fear and do it anyway. It’s not about you, but always about the reader, and enjoy every moment – it goes by so fast!”

After her experience at Wapad and finishing her degree, she found it difficult to find a career in the media industry because of complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, instead of accepting defeat, Steffens decided to bake and sell healthy goodies in George from her mother’s kitchen to the public. This came from her love of baking and cooking, which eventually carried over into her career today.

Steffens stated that as someone grows up, they often overthink the term ‘career’. She went on to say, “We link it so easily to earthly things or acceptance from our parents which overcomplicates it and causes unnecessary stress.”

Steffens advised students who are about to choose a career that they should choose what they love unbelievably, that which chases them out of bed in the morning, and which lets the little flame burn in their heart.  Following her advice, she chose a career that makes her happy and that she has always been passionate about. 

When asked what her career looks like today, she said, “During my third year in Potchefstroom I started an Instagram page with the name sublime with lime.” This Instagram page was dedicated to sharing healthy recipes, and after four years of having the account, sublime with lime is a wholesale healthy bakery that supplies shops across South Africa with gluten-free and healthy products. This year in June she decided to outsource her products to external suppliers to spend more time on her writing and media.

Her current plans are to write her first-ever recipe book, which focuses on podcasts and recipe consulting. She is also planning on using social media as a platform to enable other people to cook, bake, and live healthily.