Zerwick de Lange, currently an honours student in Physics, was awarded the Vice-Chancellor and Principal Award as the best undergraduate student in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS). His cumulative weighted average was an astounding 96,86% over his three years of undergraduate studies.

“Getting where we want to in life requires a lot of hard work, and my degree was no exception to this maxim. But I have the massive advantage of adoring mathematics and physics. I enjoy every moment of the slog, and if it wasn’t for that, I don’t know whether I would have had the success I have had up unto this point. If you can do something you are passionate about, the hard work needed for success will be much easier. My greatest wish is for people to have a similar experience, so please: heed my words,” Zerwick shared.

He added, “There is a lot I could say about the ways we tackle the various duties we have as scholars and as human beings in general, but in my life, there is one major contributing factor to my accomplishments that I would like to emphasise: Enjoy the process.”

Zerwick matriculated from Hoërskool Die Wilgers in 2021. While there, he pursued various extracurricular activities, most notably Drama, learning basic Mandarin, and forming part of the Student Representative Council, of which he became Head Boy. However, his true passions, mathematics and physics, were always his primary focus. This manifested in him achieving the Dux Scholar award from his school and being offered the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Merit Award (VCDMA) from UP as he entered his first year.

While studying, Zerwick dedicated himself to these passions, pursuing UP’s double major programme in Mathematics and Physics. He not only achieved the award for the best Physics student but also placed first on the Dean’s list every year of his studies. He also partook in various Tertiary Mathematics Olympiads, including the 2023 Wits Olympiad, in which he achieved third place nationwide and first place in Gauteng.

Zerwick, being a loquacious individual, naturally was part of the Mathematics Undergraduate Seminar series in which he and a few other students were offered the opportunity to present talks on various topics they found interesting. Similarly, he presented a few classes for a second-year workshop under the guidance of Dr Kikianty. He was also part of the University's Pi-Day (International Day of Mathematics) festivities and helped explain a few interesting topics to onlookers passing by.

His honours degree in Physics focuses on theoretical physics, looking at techniques to find solutions to supergravity equations. The next steps in his academic career are an honours in mathematics, and he will not stop until he completes a PhD in mathematics. “I believe that multi-disciplinary research is a quintessential next step for the scientific community, and I plan to do my part by investigating mathematical and physical concepts and how they complement one another.”

Zerwick also shared some wise words for future UP students. “Life demands things from us that we explicitly don’t like to do. In that case, my statement still holds, but rather I’d rephrase it a little by saying: Appreciate the process. The things that are worth doing usually have aspects we can learn to appreciate and embrace. “Physical exercise can be difficult to work on, for example, but learn to love the feeling of oxygen coursing through your body, the feeling that you are currently improving your own living, the sensation of being alive.”

He added, “If you are studying, it can be very boring. Try to shift your perspective a little; however, at that moment, you are not just studying to pass a test; you are broadening your mind and making yourself a little more knowledgeable with every minute you spend reading. You also become more disciplined every second you push yourself to study a bit longer, whilst Reels and Shorts call your name. The end goal for anything we do is very important, but most of our time is spent in the process stage. Make sure it is time spent that you can reflect on and be happy about,” Zerwick concluded.

Aside from all the academics, Zerwick enjoys a bit of performance as he is still doing Drama and enjoys a round of Dungeons and Dragons or two.