Luthando an academic in the making
One of Luthando’s highlights at UKZN was when he was honoured as one of the top 40 aspiring students in UKZN in 2017/2018 and visited Germany in 2017.
From the dusty roads of Nquthu to the world, Luthando Molefe (23) left Nquthu to study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in 2015. Luthando matriculated from Mgazi Secondary School in 2014 and obtained three distinctions in Life Sciences, isiZulu and Life Orientation. Raised by his grandmother, he and four siblings had a great childhood. Luthando decided to study towards being a teacher because he was always passionate about the profession.
“My school teachers were such great examples and they instilled in me the love I have for teaching. I am currently doing my Honours Degree part-time and I am looking forward to finding a job in my field,” said Luthando.
“I was awarded a scholarship by the Office of the Head of Scholarships at UKZN for my academic excellence for the 2017 academic year.” Luthando was flabbergasted when he was recognised in his first year of study as one of the best-performing students within the School of Education by the Fundza Lushaka Bursary Scheme. As a result, he was assigned two Biological Science students to mentor. This did not come as a surprise as Luthando was one of the best students in his faculty. One of Luthando’s highlights at UKZN was when he was honoured as one of the top 40 aspiring students in UKZN in 2017/2018 and visited Germany in 2017. Luthando stated that: “I was one of approximately 4 000 students worldwide who was selected for a study tour called Teachers In Training. “We were there for a couple of weeks and I got to meet very interesting people who shared the same passion I have. “I will forever treasure the memories of that tour”. Luthando’s goal is to first gain experience as a teacher in basic education before becoming an academic lecturer. Being a member of the university’s Edgewood Environmental Forum (EEF) and a former secretary and chairperson of the movement, Luthondo has been one of the students who do community upliftment programmes as well as motivational speaking. “Being part of the EEF was a great experience. I was able to meet a lot of people and give hope to many young people who come from similar backgrounds to my own.
Young people need to know that one’s background does not determine where you are headed in life. They can achieve anything they set their minds to. Just study hard and don’t let anything stand in the way of achieving your goals,” he concluded. While Luthando is still waiting for job placement, he does motivational talks around his community and at schools in Nquthu.
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