La Lucia’s Harvard student is back with big plans
Radebe says humility is essential in success.
MFUNDO Radebe is going places but is determined not to forget where he came from. Even as he rushed to embark on his trip to Europe following his visit back to home-ground, he showed signs of leadership and drive which stand in stark contrast to his youth. The Northglen News team first met Mfundo in 2015 when he was named the global winner of the Magna Carta International Essay Competition.
Despite being brilliant, there is nothing of the braggart in 20-year-old Radebe’s bearing. He is fully aware of and very grateful for the privileges he has been afforded having been able to benefit from excellent educational opportunities which have contributed to his academic growth.
Last year, he graduated from Crawford College La Lucia after he was the first ever recipient of a full scholarship from the school. He approached the ADvTECH board which owns the school while attending Northwood School. At first, they turned him down but he persisted and later graduated from the private school with no less than eight distinctions. He then won a scholarship at the Ivy League USA University, Harvard.
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“Each year, Ivy League universities visit ADvTECH schools to scout for the brightest and most promising young learners,” explained Gwen Bosman on behalf of Meropa Communications that represent the schools.
During his first year at Harvard, he founded the Dlulisa Initiative, forming partnerships with people he identified who can help him achieve a dream which he says he hopes will some day make a big difference. “I have this big dream about the initiative, I want it to be something that is like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or do things like what Sal Khan has done with Khan Academy,” he said.
His best advice to anyone seeking to learn anything is to, “Ask questions, don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know everything.” Radebe says humility is essential in success. “Success demands humility.”
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On the student protests and political movements rocking the county the young academic said:“We are worried about the fact that the discourse here in South Africa is very much geared towards, grades 10 to 12 and there is nothing sitting at the foundation level. A lot of our kids get to high school not knowing how to read.”
Radebe says that this lack of foundation is something even he suffered from. “Until today, there is stuff that I haven’t been able to catch up on.”
