'Two' good to be true

Academics to volunteering and everything in between has seen two Nelson Mandela University students scoop top honours at the institution's Achievers Awards.

The student Achiever Awards recognise Mandela University’s student leaders who have excelled in the areas of Arts, Culture and Heritage, the Student Representative Council (SRC), Student Societies and Residence Life and Leadership, while maintaining a good academic performance.

Thina Ntsaluba and Lawrence Lwanga, who are in their third and fourth years of law studies respectively, received the prestigious Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence in Leadership awards last week — the former in the female category and the latter in the male.

The Vice-Chancellors Awards are given to two students who have distinguished themselves as outstanding leaders in co-curricular activities at the university.

Their performance and contribution must have been sustained over a period of two years, and proven themselves in a variety of leadership portfolios while maintaining a consistent good academic record.

Ntsaluba also scooped the Society Administrator of the Year award for her work in the Black Lawyers’ Association student society, while Lwanga bagged the Student Leader of the Year award, to rapturous applause.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Sibongile Muthwa, stressed the importance of co-curricular activity at the university in building active and conscious citizenship among young people.

“At Nelson Mandela University, we have recalibrated our system. This has allowed us to reconfigure the kinds of challenges that face society today.

“Our co-curricular opportunities serve as a platform to generate innovative strategies to address these challenges through education. Skills acquired in spaces beyond the lecture hall have proved their worth in ongoing lifelong learning,” she said.

Ntsaluba, who is a Vice-Chancellor’s scholar and a participant in the Allan Gray programme, developed her leadership skills by being involved in a host of activities throughout her university career.

Ntsaluba also holds an executive position in the Black Lawyers Association and focuses on raising awareness of and looking at the effects of gender-based violence. She has also advocated for mental health education at the institution — and all  of this while volunteering at the Zonke Izinto Baby Home and maintaining an aggregate of above 70%. She is also a Golden Key student, and made the Faculty of Laws Dean’s List for 2018.

Lwanga, who is also an Allan Gray scholar and whose involvement ranges from public speaking, volunteering and entrepreneurship, chairs the Black Lawyers Association and serves on its provincial board.

He has been involved in making policy recommendations on the sexual harassment infrastructure and reporting mechanisms at the university, as well as establishing a student advocacy programme.

Aware of the sad reality of student hunger on campus, Lwanga founded the Xan Drive Feeding Scheme and established a fundraising initiative, which feeds between 30 and 50 young men weekly.

He continued his fundraising passion by joining the UNAKO Community-Based Movement. 

He was selected to the GradStar Leadership Top 100, which recognises top performing students across the country based on their leadership qualities.