Youth Day Event 18 May 2023

The DLS hosted a wonderful Youth Day Event on 18 May where two BSc Actuarial and Financial Mathematics students spoke about their academic life, personal experiences and journeys to become top achievers.

Mongiwa Hazel Ntuli showed remarkable enterprise and unwavering determination to become a top achiever at the University of Pretoria. The title of her presentation was: “Battling inadequacy and imposter syndrome”. She spoke about her journey, from the beginning, where she was always the first in her class and the top achiever in her grade until she was beaten by a student who never normally achieved academically. This shock left her feeling depressed, unworthy and demotivated. She felt that her peers would now look down on her as the person who no longer came first and was beaten by somebody new. She lost trust in her friends and struggled emotionally for some time. After a while, she confided in her mother and through faith and self-belief, she equipped herself to handle the negative thoughts and her imposter syndrome with phenomenal results. She was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Merit Award in 2022 and received a top achiever award. She was also awarded a Momentum Metropolitan bursary as a Top Actuarial Science student for maintaining an average of 70%. She encouraged students to value their worth and to dream big, but also to keep their feet on the ground. She said that not everything is always smooth sailing in life and reminded students that it is so important to take care of your mental and emotional health. She was a truly inspirational speaker who taught all of us, young and old, very valuable life lessons.

The first speaker at the event, Ms. Mongiwa Hazel Ntuli. 

The next speaker is linked to the previous speaker. With the title of his presentation: “Imperfect, yet perfect”, Dylan Tadiwantashe Chimuza told his story of being a gifted student who, as a result of his great academics, was accepted into the United World Colleges, a selective education network that selects promising, passionate students from all over the world and gives them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to build a sustainable future. Here, he had to teach himself online, from his bedroom, due to the pandemic. With the support of an online tutor, he maintained an average of 90%. He was also recognized for his great achievements and was awarded a Vice-Chancellor's merit award. His message to the students was to embark on a purposeful journey, not a perfect one.

The second speaker at the event, Mr. Dylan Tadiwantashe Chimuza. 

Both these students made a huge impact by sharing their personal stories and powerful messages with all of us. We thank them for sharing and for the lessons we will take with us.