Rhodes Scholars-elect
2005
South Africa-at-Large
Sindiso Mnisi (24) , daughter of Simon and Miriam Mnisi, matriculated at St Mary's School for Girls in Waverley and received her BA and LLB from the University of Cape Town (UCT). Mnisi grew up in a strongly Christian household, where her family worked hard to give her a good education. “I felt I had to honour them and honour all the people that didn't have that opportunity,” says Mnisi. “It's been my driving force to stand out as a black woman and do really well”.
Mnisi feels a strong moral and personal responsibility to give back to her community. Mnisi has used her legal skills in this regard by volunteering in organizations such as Street Law, Legal Aid, the Law Student's Council, the Treatment Action Campaign as well as being involved in the Legal Writing Centre and campus orientation. She has hoped to contribute to legal empowerment, education and the fight against student apathy.
Mnisi has also played squash, basketball and golf and has sung in the UCT Choir. Mnisi, who plans to read for an MSt leading on to a DPhil in Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford, hopes to be an academic. “I think there's a big gap between society and law, particularly in terms of black people and especially those who live according to customary law and I think that gap needs to be addressed,” she says. Mnisi would ultimately like to be a judge of the Constitutional Court.
Pitot has played a range of sports, including cricket, rugby and golf and has a “decent handicap”. While he has ambitions in the corporate world, he believes one can still contribute to social development in this context. He believes that his range of interests allows him to engage with a variety of social settings. “I'm a socialite sometimes, sometimes introvert, sometimes into literary studies and sometimes into sport. I think I find myself comfortable in any environment,” he says. At Oxford, Pitot hopes to study for a DPhil in Computer Science.
Wilhelm-Solomon has been trained as an HIV awareness educator. He was a co-founder of the Student HIV AIDS Resistance Campaign (SHARC) at Rhodes University and was a committee member for two years. He has also been a member of the Student AIDS Action Campaign (SHAC) at Wits.
Wilhelm-Solomon hopes to be a writer and a journalist. He has published in a number of student and professional publications, notably the influential weekly Mail & Guardian . He has also published poetry in the creative quarterly journal Itch . Wilhelm-Solomon hopes to read for an MPhil in Development Studies at Oxford. “I believe that public debate about economic, political, philosophical and cultural issues is essential for the creation of a healthier society in the present conditions of global crisis. Through writing and analysis, I hope to contribute to this debate,” say Wilhelm-Solomon.
In addition to his intellectual and social endeavours, Young is a hiker and canoer and has run the Two Oceans half-marathon.
Young is interested in cognitive neuroscience through an approach bringing together the clinical, pure and human sciences. He believes that the field can contribute greatly to our understanding of human behaviour especially with regard to our learning capacities. Young believes that this aspect is especially relevant in a developmental social context. He hopes to read for DPhil in Neuroscience at Oxford.
In addition to the South Africa-at-Large scholarships, five others Rhodes Scholarships were awarded late last year –
Kwazulu-Natal
Mbali, who majored in History and English in her undergraduate degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has an Honours and Master's degrees in History. Mbali currently works as a research fellow at the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Mbali's interest in AIDS activism began when she was the gender officer on the SRC. She was a founder member of the University of Kwazulu-Natal's Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) branch, who have successfully lobbied the university to provide antiretrovirals to students who are HIV positive.
Mbali is hoping to study a DPhil in Modern History at Oxford, focusing on the history of patient-driven human rights and AIDS activism and hopes to become a researcher or civil society lobbyist focusing on health policy and human rights.
Diocesan College
Haw is a guitarist and songwriter and plays in a group called Chiaro Scuro, who try to fuse African with Western idioms of music. They have an album out called Definition . “We chose the name because we're trying to present quite a diverse range of music.”
Haw has a degree from UCT in Electrical Engineering focusing on mechatronics – sensors and computational decisions based on stimulus from the environment. Haw has a passion for sailing and has been setting up a boat in Kenya which he hopes to sail down the coast towards South Africa.
At Oxford Haw wants to study bio-medical engineering, studying the brain-computer interface. He believes that this area of research could have huge spin-offs for the physically disabled. Haw would also like to be entrepreneur.
“South Africa is a great place. I love it and want to come back here,” he says.
St. Andrew's College
Collett's approach to life from a young age has been mixing ideas with pragmatism. “My parents grew up on farms and I've spent almost all my holidays there so as much as I'm interested in academics, I feel I am very grounded. I feel very much that you need to be practical about the things you do…what you do must make sense and be directed to some purpose.”
At Stellenbosch, Collett was chair of the English Society and headed a writers' group. She has also been a member of the sailing club for the past four years. Collett has also been involved in community work through her residence committee.
Collett wants to study an MPhil in Political Theory at Oxford. She is particularly interested in ancient Greek Philosophy and its relation to African philosophy. Says Collett: “What interests me is the position of the philosopher in society.” Collett hopes to be an academic.
Paul Roos Gymnasium
Loubser was involved as Mentor in the Academic Development Programme at the University of Stellenbosch and was on the main editorial staff of Die Matie newspaper. He has played hockey at club and provincial level and now, in Sweden, plays a form of indoor hockey called innebandy . He also has an interest in languages and has done courses in German, Mandarin Chinese and Philosophy.
“I think that information technology can enable developing countries to leapfrog some of the stages of development that the developed countries have gone through. This can be achieved through effective computer networking combined with an understanding of the philosophy, techniques and ethics of communication.”
Loubser hopes to read for a D.Phil in Computer Science at Oxford and aims to study techniques of networking and aspects of the role of the Internet in society.
South African College School
Loving the outdoors has lead Kruger to play many sports, cricket and golf being the most prominent. “I've played cricket ever since I could stand and have been fortunate to represent UCT and WP at a senior level. Enough cannot be said about playing team sports, as a victory achieved together is infinitely better than one achieved alone.”
Socially for his first two years at university he helped the student fundraising society RAG before becoming involved in SHACWO Health (Students' Health and Welfare Centres Organisation). “The clinics that SHAWCO Health runs are extremely fulfilling. Just speak to anyone that has been on a clinic what it feels like to help a fellow South African.”
His hobbies include crayfish diving and spearfishing and “anything else to do with water”.
He intends to read for a degree in the science field at Oxford and to immerse himself in the academic and social milieu.
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland
Photos taken by Michell of Kleer Images:
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