A LETTER FROM ALUMUS, LUVO VICE

Molweni Axium Team,

It is with great honor, love and respect that I write to you as a BBA graduate. I cannot believe it has been seven years since I matriculated from Ekukhuleni. As I am writing this letter, it brings back all the memories we shared together from Saturday classes, study groups, bootcamps and the time we spent doing university applications - which is one of the things that gave me hope for a better future.

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my journey from Mqanduli, a rural town in the Eastern Cape, to Cape Town. One thing that pops up all the time is Axium Education. I cannot thank you enough for the work you guys are doing! There are many other rural communities that need the benefit of the Ekukhuleni programme but you chose Zithulele as your home - I am forever grateful to be part of the Axium Alumni.

When I think about my memories at Ekukhuleni, there are so many! But one of the highlights was being given an opportunity to use laptops. I still remember the first day we had a chance to use them and make email accounts to do our applications. Having a gmail account was something I could brag about to my friends when I got home (of course I helped them create their own accounts but I was the master!). The other memory that stands out was the Saturday Mich told me that they had applied for me to do a Higher Certificate in Business Administration at a Private College called TSiBA Education.

I always laugh at myself when I think of my TSiBA journey. Mich would confirm this, that I never wanted to do a Business Degree and let alone the fact that I have never done any commercial subjects in High School. The few things that crossed my mind at that moment was leaving my family and starting a new life in Knysna. At the time I was unsure about this choice but the different courses and modules opened my eyes to how business worked and I ended up falling in love with it. My friends and I started a study group at college (like we did at Axium) - I couldn’t have done it without them. There is a special module or subject at TSiBA called Leadership & Self Development. The module is designed to help students to be better leaders and it also states the importance of paying it forward and appreciation. This letter is my thank you and appreciation card to the whole team and family of Axium Education for helping overcome my biggest fear which is leaving home and sense of independence, adulting and self discipline.

If I could give advice to the grade 12 students leaving home to start their journeys I would tell them to be open to new experiences. For me, it was quite difficult, because I was the oldest child at home at the time, and being raised by loving and caring grandparents, I was always worried about whether they were going to be ok and have everything they needed. I worried about things like who would help them fetch the livestock when it’s raining, and all of those things. But I would tell students to be open and to welcome new experiences, trust the process and that everything is going to be ok. And also to visit home when you get time, family is really important.

There were a lot of lessons I learnt at Axium, but the willingness to learn is one of my biggest takeaways and today it is one of my biggest strengths. Developing a love of learning is the biggest gift anyone can give you. Things are changing everyday. That’s why I’m taking short courses while working to make sure my skills stay relevant.

A quick update about me - I graduated in 2019 and until recently was working for a LegalTech startup called Libryo. I joined the company in 2018 as an intern which was part of our curriculum at TSiBA to complete a 6 months internship before graduation. I was promoted to be an associate and then an analyst. Unfortunately with covid, many employees were let go. So I’m currently interviewing for a couple different positions. I want to develop the engineering / software / tech side of things and one day would like to be a Customer Engineer, so that’s the direction I’m headed.

It is really inspiring to hear about the growth of Axium. It was always a dream of mine to see Axium reaching out to other students and schools because the value of what Axium does - it’s hard to explain in words - it's more than just getting up in the morning and attending Saturday classes - there was so much more to learn. Hearing that Axium is making an impact in the Eastern Cape and seeing that dream come into fruition in such a short space of time is really fulfilling to me and I’m sure to other alumni, community members and families. It’s really inspiring.

As Axium grows, it will be important to keep the culture of learning and to continue to promote the willingness to learn. When a student comes home and tells their families what they learnt - that means a lot and makes a whole lot of difference. Hold onto that culture. It has changed my life in many ways.

I will be home for summer holidays and I will definitely visit the whole team if you will still be around.

Once again, thank you Axium Education for everything.

Many thanks,

Luvo