Tumelo Mogale
He’s such a smart kid and instinctively I give him a hug because I’m so proud of him.
His demeanour is slightly shy, exceptionally curious and frequently questioning. We ascend the Eastgate escalators together, heading for our restaurant. Tumelo is looking around him in awe. ‘Oh wow!’ he says. ‘What’s that?’ It’s entertaining, rather like taking your kid to the zoo for the first time.
We head for Primi Piatti where we meet my colleague, Asanda.
He makes me want to meet his mother and beg for advice. But, after chatting to this young man, I realise his drive is self-motivated and that he is a highly disciplined young man.
It is that reason that we present Tumelo to you as our first role model for the year – bright, young, driven and with wonderful manners to go with that!
TUMELO MOGALE
Real-life Role Model by Asanda Dedezane
How hard can it be, right! That is what I often say. You put in the effort, you put in the time and you accept the result, sometimes blaming fate for the final consequence.
How often do we really sit down, think about our decisions and then own them.
He arrived on time for our interview, swag dripping from his pores. Tumelo has a wonderful sense of innocence to him, perhaps enhanced by his innate curiosity and willingness to explore new possibilities.
Having spent the better part of his life in Johannesburg, Tumelo is the second of four siblings, living in the city with his older sister. With both parents being mathematics teachers, Tumelo got his double-dose of Maths brain and used it well, obtaining one hundred percent for both Mathematics and Physical Science in his final exam. (I kid you not…)
“I think the genes are from my dads’ side actually.” He says with a guarded smile. “He was also top in his class when he was at school. And he is a maths teacher!” Moving right along he pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket, ‘I thought you might want to see a copy of my statement and hands it over to us.
Even with eight distictions in hand, Tumelo is just a regular 18 year old guy. He enjoys video games - well only during the holidays – and was very quick to spot the WiFi connectivity sign in the Restaurant.
Intrigued at what makes this guy tick and where he gets his work ethic from, we bombarded him with questions. Tumelo made it sound so simple. ‘You need to make sacrifices. I never worked as hard before, but I did OK. I then decided that there were a few things I had to take out of my life so I could focus more time on my studies. Getting rid of toxic friendships, a few sites on my phone and other things that took up useful time.’
‘I look up to various pastors as my role models, and the people around me too. I always look at other people and wonder how they manage to do certain things I can’t. That motivates me. My classmates and friends motivate me. I may be a top maths student but so many people do so many other things really well.’
‘I started the Dimension data programme when I was in grade ten, but then I attended the e-learning programme they offered at my school, Thuto ke matla. Two students were selected from my school to attend the programme at the main centre and I was one of them. They saw potential and refined the diamond in me. I don’t think I would have done as well without the Dimension data programme. In life you need people that believe in you enough to propel you to the next level. That’s what they did for me.’
Asked about his expectations for the year, Tumelo admitted, ‘I’m very nervous about going to University! I’ve heard that varsity swallows people, chews them up and spits them out. I have a friend,’ he explains, sounding a lot more relaxed, ‘who is studying astronautical engineering at the University of Pretoria. If he can make it, then I’m sure I can too.’
‘I want to study electrical engineering,’ says Tumelo with absolute confidence in his decision. The entire time I’m sitting next him in awe at his brilliant achievement. But, to Tumelo, it seems normal. He loves Maths and says, ’To me, maths is like chess, if you know the rules and you play by the rules, you’re good to go. It’s the best subject ever!’
“My advice to my peers is simple, have a vision. If you know what you want it makes everything else really simple. Once you have a vision, break it down into manageable targets. Set SMART goals – that is very important! Then do it. If you don’t apply your vision, it’s the same as never having one.”
Right then and there it clicked. We hear it all the time. Plan, prepare and execute. Own your decisions and make choices that are worth your time. It could not be clearer. I look up to Tumelo. We have so many things going on all the time as young people and we may get lost in it all. Here is a guy, who knew what he wanted, put actions in place that would get him there and now he begins the next chapter in his life story. I want to say good luck to Tumelo and we look forward to finding out how tertiary is treating him in the next couple of months. Watch this space – we’ll hear from this real-life role model again soon!
Tumelo is the first in a series of real-life role models that we will introduce to you. We’re not looking at setting goals that require millions of rands, or perfectly good looks, or even superior brains. We’re here to tell you that we all have the opportunity to be something wonderful. We just have to reach for it.