Mpho Mukosi
Johannesburg - After a gruelling year filled with pressure and optimism, Jodache Govendasamy said his matriculation period was very fun, but he does admit that at times it was an emotional roller-coaster since there were a lot of ups and downs academically as well as in his social life.
Govendasamy says this was, however, the best year of his high school stay at Edenvale High School, east of Joburg.
Jodache was named in Gauteng's top achievers list for obtaining more than five distinctions. He obtained five distinctions in maths, Life Orientation, accounting, Information Technology and physical sciences.
The proud 18-year-old said he was excited to be furthering his studies at one of the best universities in South Africa, Wits University, where he planned to study actuarial science.
“I chose this because I am more passionate about maths and I love finance, and as I grew up, I realised that actuarial science seemed very much like my personality. That was when I decided to further my studies at my dream university,” said Govendasamy.
He said setting academic goals helped him manage his school work and social life.
“At the beginning of every week, I would write down my academic goals or type them out on my computer, where I would see them every morning and remind myself, ‘that is what I want to achieve’. I always thought about the end goal and not about what I wanted to do now.
“As the year went on, I found myself falling in love with the process rather than the end goal of achieving everything, and I found fulfilment in striving to achieve your goals rather than actually achieving your goals,” he said.
His biggest challenge this year, he said, was social distractions.
“At some point, everything was happening so fast in such a little time, and I had to achieve all these little things and cope with pressure, but I made sure that I dealt with it by burning the midnight oil, studying late hours even if it meant waking up the next day tired; it did not matter as long as I knew what the work content was and what was covered; for me, that was more important,” added the matriculant.
His father, Clive, told The Star that he was excited about his son’s performance in becoming one of the best scientists in the world.
“I am excited for him in the new world of opportunities that lies ahead for him. I believe that the world is his oyster for him to do his best and set himself up in a career that is going to benefit him all throughout his life and to go beyond what we achieved as his parents and also be a good leader in the future.”
The Star