Thandi Mkhize is a dynamo with a lot of heart and soul. She started out as our receptionist in Central Services, and is now our Office Manager and Property Administrator, and loving every bit of what she does. We sat down with Thandi to find out her story of growth and success at Pentravel.
Tell us a bit more about your journey at Pentravel?
I started at Pentravel six years ago as the Pentravel Receptionist. I still remember how nervous I was, but getting to know everyone was easy because every single person was so friendly and willing to help me whenever I needed it. It has been an amazing journey from then onwards.
I have experienced a lot of ‘firsts’ at Pentravel besides growth in my work. I experienced my very first flight to Cape Town as I had never been on a plane before and never thought I would get that opportunity; went on my very first cruise on the MSC Opera, which was an experience I will never forget.
I was lucky enough to get the chance to work with Jane Player in her department which made me realise how much I enjoyed property and was lucky enough to get promoted to the Office Manager/ Property Administrator position I am currently in love with!
I also had the privilege of attending the Battlefields tour, where I did a canopy tour of the second highest slides in Africa, saw my first giraffe, llama and zebra, walked proudly through the Mandela Capture site and learned about the iconic Battle Of Blood River. I got to see how beautiful my home really is. It has been a truly amazing journey so far.
What has been key to your success?
My key to success has been hard work and listening to any little bit of advice I got from the people in more senior positions than me. I focused on growth and gave 100% every single day. I offered help to other departments while at Reception in hopes of finding direction and when I did I worked hard, communicated and focused on learning as much as could. I am still growing and learning new things every single day.
How have you developed your passion for being in the travel industry?
I think my most challenging moment was finding a place where I belonged. There are so many great positions available at Pentravel and I guess helping in the various departments made it hard to choose where I wanted my career to grow and which department I wanted to be a part of. Once I was working in property for the first few months I knew it was where I wanted to grow and it became a passion I never knew I had.
If you could travel anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?
Ah well this is a very easy question! I’ve always wanted to go to Europe for as long as I can remember so if could travel anywhere it would definitely be anywhere in Europe. I wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. I would just pack my bags and go explore. Ive always loved the culture, the beautiful scenery and the cold weather is just an added bonus!