Students in drive for excellence
THE two recipients of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Distinguished Students Award believe that poverty should not determine one’s future, but should be a motivation for excellence.
This has been the drive for Sizwe Sidaza and Sivashen Reddy, the recipients of the award funded by the University Teaching and Learning Office, which recognises and rewards students with outstanding academic achievement, together with excellence in community engagement.
They received their awards during a ceremony held at the University’s Westville Campus on Wednesday night.
For Sidaza, 25, a Bachelor of Arts Honours graduate in International Relations, the award brought tears of joy knowing that he had fulfilled his late father’s wish to excel academically.
“My father worked in a factory and had only studied up to standard seven. When he passed away in 2014, I told myself that I would study to the best of my ability and make him proud. As the first in the family to pass matric, this was just the beginning of bigger things,” he said.
Born and bred in the rural uQumbu villlage in the Eastern Cape, Sidaza enrolled for his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013. His father called him all the time to remind him to dedicate his time to academic excellence.
“He used to say, ‘The book will give you ideas of how to conquer the world.’ I am indebted to him. My parents were the forces behind my desire for academic excellence.They knew that if I succeeded they, too, would prosper through my success,” he said.
Sidaza said his good results ensured his financial peace of mind, knowing that everything was paid for.
“I am grateful for the scholarship I received from the Rural Education and Access Programme, which paid for my university studies,” he said.
His interest in international affairs attracted him to his field of study. He believed that the responsibility to bring about change and development in Africa was not that of politicians only.
“I want to see people in Africa making a contribution to issues of global citizenship and development, peace-making, conflict resolution, poverty alleviation and climate change,” he said.
Sidaza’s plan is to complete his PhD before he turns 28.
“My goal is to pursue an academic career and contribute to knowledge and literature,” he said.
Reddy, of Chatsworth, a Bachelor of Science graduate in Computer Science, said his academic excellence opened many doors and opportunities that would have been scarce for someone with his background.
He said he was always fascinated by the ever-evolving world of technology and wanted to be part of it.
Immediately after matric Reddy was fortunate to receive an Abe Bailey scholarship, which involved travelling to the UK and Ethiopia where he rubbed shoulders with professors and students at Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Cultures
“The trip helped me to interact with a wide spectrum of cultures and universities across the world.”
The 21-year-old, from a family of four children, now wants to empower communities with education and help students to get into the field of education.
He is already contributing to the development of children in Umkhumbane, where he is a volunteer mathematics tutor.
Reddy said he was a firm believer that where one came from should not determine where one was going.
Matriculating with eight distinctions was the beginning of events that earned him the Distinguished Students Award.