Law student a go-getter
THERE is no doubt that Aspen Heights resident Lana Nazer, 23, is a rising star.
With both the 2012 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) vice-chancellor's award of excellence for female leadership and the NMMU society person's award under her belt, Nazer is making a name for herself among the who's who in the city.
It is not often that a student wins both awards at the same time.
The fourth-year law student has been extensively involved in community-, provincial- and national-based projects. Nazer explained she always felt the need to be involved and found a lot of fulfillment in doing so.
"I have a problem... I get bored very easily so I need to keep busy. I love engaging with people. My family is also quite competitive, so everybody is always working hard to achieve."
The inspirational student who is affiliated to many of NMMU's most prestigious societies including the Law students society, Association for the International Exchange of Students in Economics and Commerce and Students in Free Enterprise (Sife) was not going to be contained by student boundaries.
Nazer has also provided a helping hand and visionary ideas on the board of the Northern Area People Development Initiative (Napdi).
"I made a conscious decision that I want to be a leader. One has to have the right mind-set if you want to succeed. The NMMU law society is what I have dedicated most of my time towards.
"During my two years with them, I was head of the Vacation Work programme, where we managed to place 16 law students across law firms in Port Elizabeth, shadowing lawyers and hopefully being absorbed into the law firm.
"But Napdi is a project which is close to my heart having learnt community values from my parents and the organisation will be seeing a lot more of me this year," said Nazer.
All the hours put into making these projects a success is part of the reason the Golden Key member received the prestigious award.
"The Sife board members all ran for the award because we thought it would create good exposure for the society, and I ended up winning the award. The society did, however, win the Developmental Society of the Year award.
"I was overwhelmed and to think I almost didn't attend the ceremony because I had so much to complete for the following day," said Nazer, who dreams of being a High Court judge one day.