On Friday 8 April Monash South Africa (MSA) held a ceremony to recognise the hard work and commitment of our top students in the first MSA Student Top Achievers Awards. Awards were presented to top students who have excelled academically in their respective fields, students who have displayed excellence in leadership, in cultural and community engagement, and to students who have performed exceptionally in MSA sports. The 2015 Mandela Rhodes Scholarship recipient and winner of the Sir John Monash Medal, Lisa Thelma Sidambe, was recognised for her consistent and incredible contributions as an MSA student.
The prestigious ceremony also featured an inspirational address from keynote speaker and former MSA scholarship recipient Vusi Kweyama, who spoke passionately about overcoming his own difficulties to eventually meet his true potential, which he has used as a springboard to help transform the lives of others. Mr Kweyama urged students to embrace their own potential, stating that “With the backing of this powerful institution (MSA), you will become unstoppable”.
The Top Achiever ceremony was followed by the annual Community Engagement and Sports Awards, dedicated to recognising all students who contributed to Community Engagements and Sports within the last year. Academic President, Professor Alwyn Louw said “We’d like to congratulate all students for their contributions, and thank them for representing Monash South Africa in a way that we can all be proud of. We trust this recognition will motivate our achievers to continue to develop their innovative capacity and leadership in promoting excellence”.