Simonne Horwitz
South Africa-at-Large, 2001
MSc Economic & Social History
DPhil Modern History
St Antony's College
Currently studying at Oxford
As a child in Parkview, Johannesburg, I had a faint idea that there was a place called ‘Oxford', a dreamy place with mystic spires and where people rode bicycles in academic gowns and journeyed through the mists along the Thames – the postcard image of the place. I had no inkling that I would ever see, yet alone come to know the real Oxford!
I attended Greenside High School where I certainly did more photography, drama and debating than anything else. Having been encouraged by some of my teachers to go to the best university in South Africa, I began a BA at Wits. My majors were History and Anthropology with sub-majors in English and Classics, and I carried on to do an honours degree in History and Anthropology, writing a thesis on Education in Soweto.
At Wits I continued to be involved in debating both at university and to coach and run workshops for schools, especially in Soweto. Other interests included working with the Model United Nations and LoveLife programmes as well as in Student Governance.
I had never really thought of being, or studying anywhere other than in South Africa until one of my supervisors encouraged me to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship. I was daunted by the thought but the whole process of applying and going through the interviews was one from which I felt I benefited tremendously. I meet wonderful people on the panels and fellow students with such energy, vision and talent that I felt both humbled and inspired. The process made me look inside myself; it helped me to examine what a wanted to do, and to define how I planned to get there.
Coming to the UK was a major change for me – as it is for all of us. Oxford can be difficult, there are things that are so different from home, I miss the sun and I find some of the ways of doing things odd. At the same time it is full of opportunities and surprises. Everything from the delightful squirrels who seem to play hide-and-seek in my garden to the challenging, exciting and demanding academic experience here every day holds new experiences from which you can not help but grow as a person!
I began my academic career with an M.Sc in Economic and Social History (History of Medicine) and am now in the second year of my D.Phil, which is a social history of Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
I was lucky enough to choose St Antony's College – one of the most international of the graduate colleges. It is a place where I have found a family away from home. I have been involved in just about all aspects of college life – although I don't row, being out on the river at 6am when it is –3 degrees Celsius is not my idea of fun!
One of the most incredible things about the Rhodes Scholarship is the way in which it opens your eyes and gives you access to the most amazing opportunities. As for the future – there are many open doors. I am not sure as yet which one I will go through, but I do know that they all lead back to South Africa in some way.