Liyabona Kwaza matriculated from Ekuphumleni in 2018 with five distinctions and is currently completing a BCom at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). We caught up with her to see how she is doing and what she remembers from her time at Ekuphumleni.

What are you studying and how is it going?

I am in my third year of a BCom General majoring in Economics and Information Systems. I first did a bridging course and did a Bachelor of Administration for one year before moving to a BCom General. When I started out I wanted to do Accounting but soon realised that it maybe isn’t my passion. But I fell in love with Business Management, Information Systems and Economics, which I am majoring in now. I think my favourite is Information Systems so I would like to do an internship in Business Analysis.

How would you describe your time at Ekuphumleni?

I think it was the best time of my life. Because I learnt a lot – I know many people struggle to adapt at varsity, but I didn’t have that and I think it is because of the foundation I had at Ekuphumleni. I feel like I grew up here…I got many of my life lessons here. The teachers care so much and become like your second parents.

If you had to tell someone else about Ekuphumleni, what would you say?

There is no school like Ekuphumleni around here and over the years it has developed to compete with private schools in Queenstown. It is one of the best things you could do for your child, to send them to Ekuphumleni. They will learn a lot – not just textbook work but life lessons that will help you into your adult life.

What life lessons did you learn at Ekuphumleni?

Things such as tolerance and respect towards different people from different walks of life were some of the big lessons that help me navigate life as an adult.

What is coming next for you?

I am either going to do Honours or an internship – I am looking at both options. Doing Honours depends on me getting a bursary, so I am applying for that as well as for internship opportunities and will see what works out.

We wish Liyabona all the best with her applications and look forward to seeing where her journey after Ekuphumleni continues to take her.