AFTER getting their results some matriculants may be confused about choosing an appropriate career path. But not Rohan Cloete from Curro Somerset West. Cloete has long aspired to work for Nasa and his journey will start at University of Cape Town this year, where he will study astrophysics. Rohan is hoping that this will open the way to achieving his goal.
To earn a place to this three-year course, Rohan’s exam results needed to be stellar, and they were: he received seven distinctions in his final matric exams.
Rohan’s subject choices were English, Afrikaans, life orientation, maths, physical sciences and accounting. Interestingly, his favourite subject among them was life orientation. He says he enjoyed gaining insight into human nature and debating controversial topics in class.
Rohan’s road to his success was not an easy one thanks to the challenging circumstances presented by the Covid-19 pandemic which required a lot of home schooling. But he took it in his stride and turned the alone time into an advantage.
“This started as a joke, that I would go to Nasa, but now through my studies that look at the fundamentals of the universe and the trajectory of asteroids, among other things, I am on the right track,” he says.
Rohan, who started his schooling at Curro Somerset West in Grade 8, was a Ruta Setchbaba beneficiary, Curro’s scholarship programme.
“Rohan has been a pleasure to have as a learner at our school. He is a highly talented but humble student, who has a very clear idea of what he wants and how to get it.” said Graeme Waite, Curro Somerset West’s executive head.
“His performance in the final exams was excellent, but this does not surprise me; he is diligent and focused and gets things done. We wish him well on his journey towards becoming an astrophysicist,” added Waite.