Disability no hurdle for BCom student

“YOU can’t use your disability as an excuse,” Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University graduate Duncan Monks’s mother told him when she was fighting to keep him in a mainstream high school – and they are words he continues to live by.

“Wherever you are in life, you have to prove yourself. If you don’t find a way to make it happen, it never will. You’ve got to take that first step,” she said.

This week, the ambassador for disability graduates with his BCom degree in business and information systems.

It is a remarkable achievement, considering that Monks, 26, is profoundly dyslexic – when he attempts to read or write, the letters and numbers morph before his eyes.

Despite pressure from the Department of Education for Monks to move to a special school, he passed matric at Theodor Herzl with the help of scribes and extra time for tests.

Getting into NMMU was a dream come true, and he is delighted to have attained his degree.

“It’s finally a step into the next phase of my life – an opportunity to do something more.”

On Monday, he starts a long-awaited eight-month internship at ICT service provider Business Connexion (BCX).

Monks, who has long been campaigning for equal opportunities for those with disabilities, said this organisation truly showed disability support, as 50% of this year’s internship positions have been reserved for candidates with disabilities – much higher than what the Employment Equity Act requires.

“The act stipulates that only 2% of the work force must be people with disabilities . . . many companies struggle just to meet 2%, which means many of our members don’t find jobs.”

Having too much fun in first year at university saw Monks failing his exams.

His disappointed parents then insisted he get a job to help co-fund the rest of his studies.

He rose to the challenge, working three jobs – one as a barman and two as a waiter.

Getting serious about his studies also forced him to take a more serious approach to life.

“I got the opportunity in my second year [in 2012] to become chairman of Fusion [the student organisation advocating for students with disabilities].

“It was finally the opportunity to do for somebody else what was done for me.”

He was then elected to the SRC, and made a point of encouraging other disabled students to be honest about their disabilities.