User:Msizwest(Sizwe Thenjekwayo)

Sizwe Thenjekwayo

Life is a journey filled with lessons, hardships, heartaches, joys, celebrations and special moments that will ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth; in fact, throughout our travels, we will encounter many challenges. Along our journey we will be confronted with many situations, some will be filled with joy, and some will be filled with heartache. How we react to what we are faced with determines what kind of outcome the rest of our journey through life will be like(Spaunburg,2000).

As a young boy I grew in the deep rural of Mpumalanga in a place called Vlaklaagte no1 near Kwaggafontein. I attended my primary school in Bhekimfundo Primary (Grade 1-6), then went to Vulamehlo Senior Phase (Grade7-9), lastly I completed in a high school called Phumzile Secondary School(Grade 10-12).

From my lower grades I always collected certificates of being the best learners, in Phumzile FE.T I was always part of the TOP TEN best learners in a grade from 2013 until 2015. During my matric year(2015) i applied at the University of Pretoria to do Teaching [Bachelors in Education(B.Ed)].

After passing my matric I got accepted in the University of Pretoria, I was overwhelmed with joy. With my matric results I managed to be part of the TOP 18 best Learners in the Tweefontein North circuit in Nkangala District. In 2016 February 3th I attended my first lecture in Groenkloof Campus where most education students attend.

During my first year i struggled to adapt to the new environment since I had to get use to speak English everyday because students come from different parts of the world, so the only language that I spoke was English. I work very hard and passed my first semester with good results and I got an invitation to the Dell Young Leaders Foundation. DYL is a scholarship that provide a bursary of R 150,000, available over the course of the degree as well as a laptop, printing credits and financial support for textbooks and basic necessities.

Second semester I applied for Faculty house to be the leader of the Education students in the Faculty Of Education. I serve for one term as the Social Networking officer, my duty was to update students about everything that is happening in our campus through Social Media. Being part of the faculty House helped me a lot because I knew lot of people in the journey of Leadership. I attend seminars with lecturers and the management of UP.

I gained a lot under the leadership of our House Guardian, Dr M.M Sefotho. He used to advice us a lot on how to approach problems that we faced as individuals and as a team. After completing my first year, I was proud of myself for not failing an module nor writing a supplementary exam. In 2017 I got a message from Golden Key International Society saying that I am part of the TOP 15% best students in the Faculty of Education. I was so excited i could not stop myself from the excitement I got. In September the 9th 2017, I graduated from Golden Key International Society.

Currently I am doing my Third year. A message to the youth is that never allow you background to hinder you from achieve great things. It takes a strong character with an undying spirit and a dedicated person to sustain the challenges life throws at you. I hope my Journey will motivate someone. "B+ is not my marks in Maths again not my blood type, it is my encouraging qoute BE POSITIVE" S.P THENJEKWAYO