Durban – Armed with seven distinctions, determination and an open attitude to learn from the world, Sasasa Dlamini from Westville Boys’ High School booked a place at Harvard University in the US in August.
It is difficult to gain acceptance, even for American students, in the Ivy League institution.
For a 17-year-old South African, the honour is almost unheard of.
When he learnt last month he had been accepted, Sasasa, who was in a dormitory with the KZN debating team at a national competition in Limpopo, “dropped my phone, my friends started shouting and we all ran outside celebrating”.
And the sheer joy of his friends sharing his good news speaks volumes about the popular and well-spoken young man, who did not even tell his parents when he applied to the prestigious university.
“I want to experience the world, I have never been outside South Africa and want to think bigger,” he admitted.
“It’s a lengthy process to apply and it took me six months to prepare my application, which included four motivation essays, as well as a Skype interview and I had to take the SATs test (admission test for American universities).
“There is a 6% admission rate and I didn’t tell my parents because I didn’t want them to have to share in my possible rejection."
He will study economics and philosophy and is passionate about finding innovative ways of creating jobs when he comes back to South Africa.
“We need job creation which is sustainable. Wealth accumulation is a problem here and it is a structural issue. We need to be looking at a far wider wealth distribution. Philosophy teaches you how to think and expand your ideas.
“I enjoy reading autobiographies such as Steve Biko, who wrote so well. I like lateral thinking and exploring different avenues. I am just praying I don’t get there and fail. I want to be able to match up at all levels,” he said
His proud parents, Nichoulas and Thelma, have faith their son will succeed.
“We were ecstatic on hearing the news. We are so blessed. My wife and I believe in education and we invested in education for our three children. We come from uMlazi and feel indebted to this school, which is the epitome of what a school should be in our South African context in terms of transformation.
Independent
“We have never told him what to do because we encourage independent thinking in our children and you cannot live vicariously through your children,” said Nichoulas, a lawyer.
Sasasa attended Our Lady of Natal in the Bluff and Penzance Primary School in Glenwood.
Thelma, a teacher, said: “I am very happy for him and know he can look after himself. We will be checking on him, but we want to let him fly.”
Westville Boys’ High School headmaster Trevor Hall said he was not surprised Sasasa was accepted.
“It’s not all about distinctions. People with perfect scores have been rejected.
“Sasasa is an all-round person. He is academic, achieving straight A's; he was very involved in cultural activity, representing our school at provincial level in debating, and has participated in many different sports. He was also involved in our academic support and outreach programmes, is a student leader and has been doing peer mentoring.
“We work very hard at developing emotional intelligence. These top universities are looking for resilience, all-round expertise and being able to make a contribution to society,” said Hall.
He pointed out that a number of American universities had been in the country this year, looking at top South African students.
Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth and Cornell universities made presentations at the school this year, while Yale University issued an invitation to schools to an introduction programme last month.
And Sasasa’s advice for 2017 matriculants?
“Make sure you use the resources around you and don’t limit yourself by thinking ‘I’m just an academic’ or ‘I’m just a rugby player’. It’s better to take a risk and be rejected than to never take a risk at all,” Sasasa said.