Thandolwethu Zwelakhe Shakes Dlamini (Swaziland, WK 2013-2014)
Thandolwethu Zwelakhe
Shakes Dlamini
- How did you first hear about Waterford and how did you end up attending WK?
I first
heard about Waterford as a child from my grandmother. She described it as a
school where the brightest students go and if I continued to do well in my
academics I could end up at Waterford one day. However, attaining the Waterford
scholarship became a clear goal for me when I was in form 1 after attending a
farewell party for a former Waterford student who was leaving Eswatini for
Brown University in the US.
My first and
second attempt at acquiring the Eswatini National Committee scholarship was unsuccessful
as my entrance test scores rendered me unfit at the time. After realizing that
I had missed the UWC scholarship opportunity, I saw all my dreams of attending
a UWC school go down the drain. I swiftly moved on to plan B which was getting
in to an AS-Level/ Matric program which would enable admission to an
engineering program in one of the Universities in South Africa. My parents
could not afford the school fees in the schools which offered the AS-Level/Matric
programs hence I could not enroll in any school.
Fortunately,
I was volunteering at my former high school as a science and mathematics
teaching assistant and received a stipend which I resorted to utilize to pay
teachers who taught mathematicss, physics and chemistry at Salesian High
School’s AS-Level program so that they could guide me while I taught myself the
required material for the subjects. While pursuing AS-level part time, I was
advised that I could seek sponsorship from companies that may hire me once I
have received my engineering qualifications. This gave me the idea to approach
the Eswatini Electricity Company seeking sponsorship and a few months later
they agreed to sponsor me to do any pre-University program in the country that
would enable me to be admitted into an Engineering program in South Africa.
Waterford
was the first school on my mind when I received this scholarship and I quickly
arranged an appointment with Mr Storer and inquired if there would be a place
for me at Waterford if I came with my own external scholarship. Fortunately,
there was a place for me at Waterford and the EEC scholarship program which my
plea led to its initiation ended up funding the scholarship for 6 students at
Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA over the course of four years.
- Was there
anyone in particular who was instrumental in getting you to Waterford?
The Eswatini
Electricity Company as well as Mr Storer were instrumental in getting me to
Waterford. Furthermore, my family especially my grandparents were very
instrumental in setting me on the path that eventually landed me at Waterford
and I am eternally grateful for them.
Setting foot at Waterford for the first time as a
student in January 2013 was like a dream come true. I had just lost my
grandmother early in December 2012 and being at Waterford assured me that she
was definitely proud of me. It is not easy to single out one person as the most
influential person in my Waterford journey since I found immense value in most
of my interactions with members of the WK community. I was highly involved in
different activities from the choir to the SRC to being a peer supporter and
different members of the WK community gave me courage through complements and
words of encouragement. This encouragement I received has motivated me to
always strive to add value to every community I am a part of which has served
me well as of yet and will continue to do so. For instance, the relationships I
had forged with different members of the WK community have been instrumental
since I returned to Waterford as facilitator for the UWC short course, Togetherfor Development and now as a co-lead organizer of the short course atWaterford.
- How has your Waterford education benefitted you or
helped you in getting you where you are today?
I can attribute my admission to one of the best
schools in the world, Duke University and being a recipient of two prestigious
African student Scholarships, the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship and Allan
Gray Orbis Foundation Fellowship to my academic performance as well as my extracurricular
engagements while I was at Waterford. Furthermore, UWC inspired me to take
action about issues that I am passionate about and this has greatly influenced
the way I live my life.
- What have you done since Waterford and what are you
doing now, both career-wise and in general? Do you have any significant
hobbies or community activities that you are involved in which you would
like us to mention?
I am
currently a student at Duke University on the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship
majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in German. While at Duke I
natured my interest in playing a significant role in building a more equitable
world through solving problems of access to energy, proper sanitation,
education opportunities and clean water in developing nations like mine. At
Duke I am a Pratt Research Fellow on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
funded project to improve sanitation in the developing world and I also delayed
my graduation to work in energy access first for 7 months with an Energy Start
up in Lesotho building solar mini-grids for villages without electricity and
now with the Eswatini Electricity Company also on a pilot project to supply
electricity to an off-grid community through a solar mini-grid. Concurrently, I
have co-organized two UWC short courses at Waterford the first in December 2018
and the second in August 2019 while also contributing to the growth and impact
of an NGO I co-founded as Waterford Student in 2013, The Knowledge Institute.
Moreover, at Duke I have had the opportunity to study abroad in Germany and
recently in Switzerland which has allowed me to achieve one of my childhood
dreams of travelling and seeing the world. My longest lasting hobby has been
singing which was also natured at Waterford and this inspired me to co-found
Duke University’s first African Choir, Duke Amandla Chorus and take part in
various musical activities on campus.
- What advice would you share with your
fellow alumni as well as with current students?
UWC inspired in me the courage to seek and maximize the
growth I can achieve from every opportunity and interaction I have which has
helped me become a better listener, problem solver and citizen of the world. I
would encourage my fellow UWCers to strive to become individuals of value so
that they can add value to the lives of others
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