Monash South Africa students awarded prestigious Mandela Rhodes scholarships

22 October 2009

Monash South Africa students who have been awarded Mandela Rhodes Scholarships: Krishna Khetia and Petunia Mpoza,

Two Monash South Africa students have been awarded the prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarships for 2010.

They are Krishna Khetia, final year Bachelor of Arts student majoring in Geography and Environmental Science and Economics and Petunia Mpoza, who is studying towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Communication and Media Studies.

This year 30 Mandela Rhodes Scholarships were awarded to students from across the African continent with scholastic, intellectual and leadership potential. These Scholarships enable recipients to study towards a postgraduate degree programme through a South African tertiary institution.

“We are very proud to have two of our students receive this very prestigious Pretorius Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash South Africa.scholarship, particularly as we are still a relatively small campus,” says Tyrone

Deputy Chancellor Mr Paul Ramler said: “I was present on the Monash South Africa campus at the very beginning when the foundations were laid and am delighted to once again be present to congratulate the recipients of this scholarship. This is a great achievement for all at this campus in a relatively short space of time.”

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation believes that in order to achieve its full potential, Africa needs a critical mass of leaders with exceptional intellectual capacity, but also with character, integrity and commitment. The intention of this Scholarship programme is to give expression to the legacy of academic excellence, leadership skill, education, reconciliation and entrepreneurship.

This holistic leadership programme includes mandatory supplementary workshops and a mentoring system and aims to create a network of excellent leaders in Africa.
The programme acknowledges that leadership is a lifelong process and scholars are supported to develop their already-demonstrated leadership abilities and skills, to identify new ones and to transcend self-limiting behaviour.

Kenyan student Krishna Khetia said she is very excited at being awarded this Scholarship which she believes will provide a great new opportunity to be exposed to many amazing people, to share experiences and to learn from them.  Krishna will be undertaking an Honours degree in Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Cape Town next year. Eventually she would like to focus on environmental, social and economic sustainability in Africa. Krishna currently works part time for the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

South African student Petunia Mpoza, who is currently on a student exchange at Monash University in Malaysia, sees endless opportunities on the horizon from now on. Petunia intends to do an Honours degree in International Relations at Monash South Africa and continue studying towards a PhD.

 “I believe that achieving academic excellence gives credibility, which can then be used to make a difference in one’s chosen field,” she said. In the future, Petunia would like to be involved in international relations within the African context.

Both Scholarship recipients thanked Monash South Africa, in particular Research Administrator, Hester Stols, for the invaluable assistance and support provided during the application process.

The Mandela Rhodes Foundation’s Scholarships Manager, Theresa Daniels, once again congratulated Monash South Africa on the quality of candidates put forward.