Cape Town – Adverse circumstances linked to being born and raised in Manenberg, an area affected by gang violence, did not stop a local teenager from achieving eight distinctions in the 2018 matric exams.
Ester Louwskitt, 17, achieved the distinctions in English, Afrikaans, maths, biology, physical science, history, life orientation and accountancy, with a pass rate of 90.3%.
Louwskitt finished matric at Livingstone High School, Claremont, where she was the top pupil and head girl.
Seated between her proud parents Cyril and Elizabeth Louwskitt when interviewed by the Cape Times at their home yesterday, a smiling Louwskitt said: “The final exams were not difficult. It was a fair paper for all the subjects. Maths was a bit tricky, but I could make it.
“I want to study medicine, hopefully at Stellenbosch University, because I’ve heard it’s a very good university, and I want to be the best doctor I can be.”
She has, however, been accepted at UCT and Wits. After qualifying as a medical doctor, she intends studying for a Master’s degree and wants to go abroad to try to bring back resources such as the latest medical technologies, she said.
“Studying and my schooling was a bit difficult, because of the shootings in the area and the fact that I have to walk from home to the bus stop to get a bus to school. But I didn’t see it as something negative. I saw the situation as a way to better myself and as a challenge that I just have to overcome.
“My main inspiration? My parents and my grandma Hilda Brander, who is 84,” she added.
Recalling a traumatic incident when she was in Grade 9, Ester said she was walking home from the bus stop after school when gangsters just started shooting.
“I ran into a neighbour’s house, but I don’t think anyone was injured during that incident,” she added.
She said she benefited from the Shawco Shine Programmes, which she attended every Saturday for the past two years, and Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s Engen Saturday School programme.
She advised high school pupils to use all the resources on offer at their schools and in their communities.