How Mongiwa Hazel Ntuli bagged an actuarial science degree at 17
She found herself having to adjust to the large age gaps between herself and her university peers.
Her family allowed her to have as normal a childhood as possible while encouraging her bright mind.
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While many at her age are still traversing through high school corridors, Mongiwa Hazel Ntuli has just bagged herself an actuarial science degree from the University of Pretoria at just 17 years old.
The young and bright mind from Rosettenville, Johannesburg, started her first year at university at 15, having accelerated through primary and high school.
How it all started
Mongiwa explains, 'When I was in Grade 3, I mistakenly wrote a Grade 4 mathematics paper and scored the highest of all the actual Grade 4 students. My teacher identified this and allowed me to write more Grade 4 papers and saw that I performed exceptionally well.'
Fast forward a few years and Mongiwa has pursued her passions in finance and mathematics, choosing actuarial sciences as a happy marriage of the two.
Her undergraduate experience
Mongiwa shares, 'Undergrad took up most of my time because I had to learn new study techniques because the ones I applied in high school were not sufficient anymore. I had a lot of help and a lot of tutors, which demanded a lot of my time. Spending so much time on my studies allowed me to learn to speak my mind more freely and to be more independent.'
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Undoubtedly, being the youngest in the lecture room is no easy feat and Mongiwa found herself having to find her place in the big world.
She explains, 'I can learn about other people easily and I can observe their behaviour effortlessly, while blending in with the students around me. Disadvantages were instances where I could not engage with other people because of a larger, more intimidating age gap. Once people learned about my age, they started treating me more like a younger sibling than treating me like another student.'
Mongiwa continues, 'I often felt out of place when attending big conferences or big events where serious topics are discussed and engagement was encouraged. There were highly intellectual people who I couldn't relate to or understand. They also didn't take into account that I only started learning about actuarial science relatively recently and didn't have an extensive background in that field.'
Off the cuff
What is the most important lesson you've learned from your journey so far? Never forget your roots but don't become your roots.
What are five fun things that you like to do in your free time? I love watching medical or murder mysteries series, reading financial and/or self-help books and playing tennis. I also love spending time with my younger brother. He has an interesting point of view on life. I also like listening to music.
If you could give advice to students aspiring to excel academically, what would it be? To never give up and to never stop learning. They should grab each and every opportunity they get and make sure that the decisions they make now don't come at the expense of the bright futures they could have.
What strategies or habits have been crucial to your success? Making sure I talk to my guardians/family and remain grounded. Praying is a huge part of my life and connecting with other people from other cultures helps me define myself more.
A strong support system
Although Mongiwa was encouraged to keep her age a secret so as to not be treated differently, through it all, her family as her support system gave a chance to experience a normal, loving and fulfilling childhood.
Mongiwa shares, 'I feel that my support system made it as normal as it could be. My age was not flaunted by my family members and I was protected by those around me. I never wanted to know another life.'
On her greatest source of support and inspiration, Mongiwa says, 'Definitely my aunt who taught me that failure is not final and to keep going no matter what comes my way. There will always be opposition or adversity whenever you are successful at something. I just have to learn to ignore it and take pride that I am doing the best I can.'
What's next for her?
Mongiwa has plans to pursue honours and masters degrees and dive into the world of work.
She explains, 'My short term goals are to actually pass my exams well enough to get an exemption and also have more job shadowing opportunities before I jump into anything long term. For the next few years I would love to have done something major for my guardians to show my appreciation, acquire some assets and have progressed in my academic and career life.'
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