STADIO School of Law welcomes 80-year-old law student
STADIO’s School of Law is delighted to welcome Johan Drotschie, an 80-year-old pensioner who has recently enrolled as a student, for their Bachelor of Laws degree.
A retired provincial manager, Drotschie now sits on the boards of two major companies and serves as chairman of several pension funds.
“I do have a good grasp of legislature directly influencing the administration of pension funds, simply because of years of experience and exposure to trained legal minds. However, I felt, that it would stand me in good stead if I can acquire a law degree, but I registered for the LLB with STADIO late and only received my textbooks at the end of March. Although this leaves me with limited time to prepare for assignments and examinations, I am very excited to get going and learn and acquire greater in-depth knowledge,” he explains.
The two-year post-graduate Bachelor of Law degree offered by STADIO is delivered via a flexible distance learning model, which allows people like Drotschie to develop their skillset whilst continuing with their everyday jobs. The course is delivered remotely, via an online learning portal which Drotschie, who describes himself as a computer dummy, is eager to get his head around.
Studying at a university is not unfamiliar territory to Drotschie who completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Investment Management way back in 1982 at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), now the University of Johannesburg. He also possesses a Post Graduate Certificate in Advanced Trust Laws from The University of Pretoria; has passed the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) assessments and completed several examinations set by the Financial Planning Institute of South Africa.
“We are humbled and excited to welcome Johan to STADIO School of Law. He is a wonderful example of age not being a barrier to personal success. At STADIO, our main goal is to empower our nation by widening access to higher education. Our supportive, yet flexible distance learning model has been designed to help working adults achieve an excellent, quality education while not sacrificing other commitments. We are excited to see how he will experience the model and know that he will be a role model to illustrate to other adult and mature students that the fear of technology should not stand in one’s way to achieve academic success. We wish him all the best during his two-year course,” says Prof. Philip Stoop, Head of the STADIO School of Law.