Rhodes Scholars-elect
2009
The Rhodes Scholars-elect for the year 2008 are:
South-Africa-at-Large Scholars-Elect:
Jess Auerbach (23), is the daughter of Christina and Raymond Auerbach. She grew up in KwaZulu-Natal and attended the Roseway Waldorf School, matriculating in 2004 with six distinctions. In school, her main interests were rock-climbing and the cello, but these gave way to a university career focused primarily on teaching: privately, in local townships and at the University of Cape Town where she read English and Social Anthropology. She received her Bachelor of Social Science (cum laude) in 2007, before working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Maratane Refugee Camp in Nampula, Mozambique. Here, her interests in leadership, democracy and communication came together in the facilitation of a series of discussions dealing with Citizenship with young refugees from Rwanda, the DRC and Burundi. In 2008 Jess completed her Honours in Social Anthropology (first class), whilst continuing her involvement in diverse aspects of UCT student life, being selected as a SA representative to the African Youth Panel in Addis Ababa. She will complete an MSc in Forced Migration Studies at Oxford.
Evan Ford (22), son of Martin and Sandra Ford, grew up in Clarens and matriculated with six distinctions from Harriston High School, where he enjoyed drama, hockey, the editorial of the school newspaper and public speaking. He graduated from Rhodes University within the top 1% of the faculty of commerce together with distinction and academic honours, attained 25 first class passes during his undergraduate degree and has been a member of the Dean’s List every year of his university study. He studied for two honours degrees concurrently during 2008: one in Accounting through Rhodes University and one in Economics through the University of South Africa. He has sat on multiple Rhodes society committees, held the office of Vice President of the SRC, was selected as the most influential student on campus during 2006, was the youngest ever Economics tutor at Rhodes, chaired the Student Forum responsible for passing the Constitution of the Students and was co-founder of the Student-2-Student initiative, the first initiative of its kind in SA. An entrepreneur passionate about public sector delivery in South Africa, Evan plans to study an MSc in Development Economics and the MSc in Financial Economics at Oxford.
Bonolo Mathibela (22), daughter of Andrew and Julia Mathibela, grew up in Pretoria, received a scholarship to attend Crawford College and matriculated with seven distinctions. She was awarded the Gauteng Department of Education Academic Excellence Award for being the top female African student in Physical Science. It was her passion for robotics and automation in an African context that led her to complete a Mechatronics Engineering degree at the University of Cape Town, where she graduated with first class honors in 2008. Besides her studies, she has been involved with various community development projects through Operation Mobilisation, the Golden Key Society and other organisations focusing on poverty alleviation, relief work, tutoring, career guidance and establishing a children’s shelter. She has also been involved in setting up a mentorship program - South African Science Foundation for Youth (SASFY). She enjoys and plays jazz guitar in her free time. Bonolo will read for an DPhil in Robotics at Oxford .
Carina Venter (23), is the daughter of Drikus and Rina Venter. Carina matriculated with six distinctions from Prinshof School for blind and visually impaired learners where she was head girl and represented the school on the Junior City Council of Pretoria. She went on to complete her BMus degree at the University of Pretoria cum laude, majoring in cello, chamber music and musicology. She is presently doing a Masters degree in musicology at the University of Stellenbosch. Carina has performed with orchestras around the country. She was awarded provincial colours in judo and athletics. Carina’s research interests include music, race and politics and she has also done research on the role of music in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. At Oxford, Carina will read for an Mst in Musicology before progressing to a DPhil in the same discipline.
KWAZULU-NATAL SCHOLAR-ELECT
Miles Jackson (23), son of Rob and Maureen Jackson, matriculated with eight distinctions from Hilton College in 2002. He graduated in 2006 with a first in law from St Anne's College, Oxford, and with a Masters in law from Harvard Law School in 2007. At Oxford, Miles was president of the St Anne's College Junior Common Room, played squash for the university and rowed for his college. At Harvard, his paper on crimes against humanity was nominated for the Laylin Prize for the best paper written in the field of public international law and was published in the Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law. He was a co-author of a report published in 2008 on the issue of prosecuting perpetrators of apartheid-era crimes, worked on briefs on the illegality under international law of immunities for torture and helped coach a team of high-school students in a mock-trial competition. He completed the Cape Epic mountain bike race in 2005 and represented a combined Oxford college crew in a rowing race across the English Channel. At Oxford, Miles will read for a DPhil in Law.
BOTSWANA, LESOTHO, MALAWI, NAMIBIA AND SWAZILAND SCHOLAR-ELECT
Vitaliy Voronkov (22), son of Dr Gennadiy Voronkov and Dr Svitlana Voronkova, grew up in Ukraine before moving to Namibia, where he attended Noordgrens Secondary School in Rundu and St. Paul’s College in Windhoek. He graduated with a first class honours BBusSc (Finance) degree from the University of Cape Town in 2008, and has completed a course in Financial Derivatives at the London School of Economics. Vitaliy will be a Graduate Trainee at Merrill Lynch until October 2009. In his time at UCT, he was the Project Leader of SHAWCO Masizikhulise, a project that seeks to empower emerging entrepreneurs in the townships of Cape Town. Through this involvement, Vitaliy was invited to attend the StartingBloc Institute for Social Innovation at the London Business School. He was the Vice-President of the UCT Investment Society and the Vice-Chair of the UCT Commerce Students’ Council. He was also involved in the UCT Namibian Society and in his student residence in various leadership roles. In December 2008, Vitaliy was awarded the inaugural Dean’s Award for All-Round Excellence in conjunction with McKinsey & Co. He is interested in history, current affairs, urban development, travel and various sports. Vitaliy will pursue the MSc in Economics for Development and the MSc in Financial Economics at Oxford.
SCHOOLS’ SCHOLARS-ELECT
Diocesan College (Bishops)
Simon Franklin (22), son of Peter and Diana Franklin from Cape Town, graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce with distinction from the University of Cape Town, majoring in Economics, Mathematics and Politics, before pursuing an honours degree in Economics. He has been involved with debating and its development, starting an active internal league while at school, running township tournaments and later chairing the UCT Debating Union. He worked as a volunteer and leader in community outreach projects, teaching Maths, Science and Debating at township schools. He has traveled and hiked widely through rural South America and Africa, experiences which have strongly influenced his interest in Africa and development. These travels have also allowed him to pursue his interest in photography; and he has had his work published in local magazines. He enjoys running, hiking and squash. At Oxford Simon will read for the MPhil in Economics.
South African College High School (SACS)
NICK FRIEDMAN (23), son of Rita and Michael Friedman, completed a BComm in Economics in 2005 and an LLB in 2007, both at the University of Cape Town. An avid debater throughout his university career, Nick has won numerous national and international debating and moot court competitions. During his studies he was involved in a number of community development initiatives, including the Township Debating League and the Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (SHAWCO), of which he was President in 2007. He also conducted legal research for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the AIDS Law Project, as well as for a World Bank project on socio-economic rights. He is currently working as a research clerk for Justice O’Regan at the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He is also completing an LLM thesis in Legal Philosophy. At Oxford Nick will read for a DPhil in Legal Philosophy.
Paul Roos Gymnasium
JAN BOTHA (23), son of Jan and Louise Botha of Stellenbosch, matriculated in 2003 with eight distinctions, being placed 17th in the Western Cape. After returning from a one-year Rotary Youth Exchange to Germany, he completed his BSc in Physical and Mathematical Analysis (cum laude) at Stellenbosch University in 2007. More recently, he has discovered a passion for journalism during his stint as content editor at Die Matie, Stellenbosch's independent campus newspaper, where he initiated the regular publication of an isiXhosa summary of the paper's main articles. At Eendrag Men's residence he played hockey, was a member of the serenade group and was lucky enough to escape the fire that consumed the residence in late 2007. In his spare time, Jan enjoys reading, mountain biking and hiking. He is currently finishing his honours degree in Applied Mathematics at Stellenbosch University, and plans to combine his academic background with a long-held fascination for languages by reading for a DPhil in Computer Science at Oxford's Computational Linguistics Group.
St Andrews High School
Bronwyn Tarr (22), daughter of Peter and Jacqueline Tarr, grew up in Namibia and matriculated with six distinctions from the Diocesan School for Girls in Grahamstown. Throughout her time at DSG she was actively involved in cultural and academic activities, and was awarded the En Avant prize for outstanding contribution to the school; personal endeavor and excellence. She graduated first in her class from UCT in 2007 with a BSc in Evolutionary Biodiversity and Biology, and Ecology. While at UCT, Bronwyn was involved in the leadership of a number of community and educational projects including various SHAWCO initiatives (such as the Eyethu Wetlands rehabilitation project), Stone Dragon Educational Programme, and Inkanyezi, a student-run life orientation project. She has recently completed her Zoology Honours (cum laude) as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, and will read for the MSc in Environmental Change and Management at Oxford.
