17-Year-Old Rhodes University Student Appeals for Funding After Bagging 6 Distinctions

17-Year-Old Rhodes University Student Appeals for Funding After Bagging 6 Distinctions

  • A dedicated 17-year-old at Rhodes University who is majoring in three fields is in desperate need of funding to continue her course
  • The young lady is an ‘A’ student, having obtained six distinctions in her first year of studies
  • Talking to Briefly News, Noluthando Bokamoso Kalmash notes that her single mom took out a loan to help cover her fees

A perseverant 17-year-old young lady is working hard to make her mother incredibly proud.

A 17-year-old girl who is now a Rhodes student and looking for funding
Noluthando Bokamoso Kalmash is appealing for funding. Image: Noluthando Bokamoso Kalmash/Supplied.
Source: UGC

The teenager completed matric at 16 in 2022 at Mawele High School and decided to study a Bachelor of Science at Rhodes University, triple majoring in Computer Science, Mathematical Statistics, and Information Systems.

Noluthando Bokamoso Kalmash shared a post on LinkedIn where she explained that she needed financial aid to continue her course after her mother took out a loan to cover part of the costs.

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Briefly News reached out to the dedicated student, who shared more about her journey and dreams for the future.

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17-year-old faced tragedy

Lovely Noluthando explains that after her father passed away in 2019, her mom was left to support her and the two younger brothers she has:

“My mom was working in Johannesburg [as a recruiter], and I had to go live with my grandmother in KZN who was unemployed. We depended on my mother's salary and [before my dad passed away], he would add in something even though he was unemployed.
"When he passed away, that's when things took a sharp turn and my mother had to take care of us all.”

Owing to her excellent matric results, Rhodes University paid 75% of her fees. However, the remaining costs were paid by her mother, Nokuzola Kalmash, who needed to take out a loan to cover her daughter’s academic funding.

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Excellent student appeals for funding

Noluthando prioritises her studies and obtained six distinctions during her first year:

“After the COVID-19 pandemic, I realised that the only industry that did not suffer was the Information Technology sector. Then that's when I decided to branch into computer science which aligned perfectly with mathematics.
“By triple majoring in these three fields, I can develop a well-rounded skill set across various areas of computer science and statistics. This can make me highly versatile and capable of tackling complex problems from different angles.”

However, without funding, the smart student risks being unable to realise her dreams.

Her loving mom, Nokuzola, explains that the funding will lift some of the financial burden that the family has:

“My daughter getting funding would be helpful as it would take a strain off my expenses as I am responsible for four dependents with a one-income job.”

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Kauthar Gool avatar

Kauthar Gool (Women Empowerment Editor) Kauthar Gool has been the Women Empowerment Editor at Briefly News since 2022. She holds a Master of Public Relations and Communication Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) (2022) and a Bachelor of Technology in Journalism from CPUT (2019). She has worked at the Fundza Literacy Trust, ITWeb, YOU Magazine, and Cape Argus. She is currently furthering her education in journalism at Stellenbosch University. Reach her at: kauthar.gool@briefly.co.za