A New York-based school principal, a cleaner turned graduate and a philanthropist were among those honoured at the Nelson Mandela University Alumni Awards held on Thursday night.

At its annual Alumni Awards the university honoured seven outstanding alumni — among them Nelson Mandela’s great-grandson, who is working to strengthen the media in East and Southern Africa, a woman making significant environmental strides globally in the mining sector, a lawyer at one of the world’s biggest firms who fights for children’s rights in his free time, and an inspiring achiever who has proved you are never too old to learn. ..