Prestigious university accolade for Crystal Park resident

A Crystal Park youngster, Khayalethu Makhubu, has achieved one of his life goals – completing his Master of Business Administration at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, England.

The 29-year-old student completed his masters with distinction and was awarded the Deans Commendation Award for student leadership throughout the year.

Khayalethu was also on the dean’s merit list, which represents the top 10 percent of academic achievers in the class.

He said he is very proud of his performance.

“I took some extra-curricular activities while I was studying the MBA, including being on the student council as the diversity representative and being on the executive committee of the Oxford Africa business alliance where I was in charge of outreach,” said Khayalethu.

“I come from a very supportive family that believes in excellence and hard work. I am happy that I was able to proudly carry the Makhubu name beyond the shores of South Africa.”

He said he learned a lot about the fundamentals and intricacies of organisational leadership.

The enthusiastic youngster said his experience was incredible. He met new people from all walks of life and living in a historic city was more valuable than one could describe.

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“I’m used to travelling without my parents, hence the move was not difficult for me. I was an exchange student to the United State of America for a year when I was 16, then I lived in Cape Town for four years after matric and I moved to Canada in 2018 for work. I, however, love being home,” he said.

“The lockdown and transition to online learning took a knock on my mental health as I wasn’t able to interact with people on a regular basis as I am highly social and I depend on people for energy,” he said.

“I have a learning impediment which made it difficult to cope particularly with all the negative news that the year offered, but I did meditation, mindfulness, and running which helped.”

Khayalethu will be joining the ELMA Philanthropies in the next year as a senior associate in the impact investments team in Cape Town.

He added that he wants to change the world through access and equity, especially in Africa.

“I am sensitive to inequality and social injustice and I know that I have the ability, skills, and responsibility to create a better continent, even if I add only a little bit of value.

“I have God-given talents and human-given opportunities to contribute to society, and merely having that knowledge is enough motivation for me.”

The former Benoni High School learner holds a Bachelor of Business Science from the University of Cape Town.

His advice to other youngsters is to write down your goals, your perceived and real barriers to achieving them (including your insecurities) and then come up with a solution for each of those barriers. Revisit this list weekly.

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