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Ntombifuthi, the 22 year old girl who is doing her first year in Bachelor of Economics sits on her bed with her legs crossed and carefully listens to what I have to say to her. Joy is written all over her face you can clearly see that she is happy. Her first year at Rhodes University is a dream come true, ever since she matriculated in 2004 she always dreamed of having a Bachelor of Economics degree from Rhodes. Things have not always been great for Ntombifuthi at Rhodes because Rhodes is far away from home and very different from Johannesburg where she comes from. Quite Grahamstown was okay for her but she really missed her family and friends when she first arrived at Rhodes.

At first it was not easy to make friends because she felt that everyone around her was too young to be her friend and she was also worried about what kind of friends to choose since she is a born again Christian. “Things were tough seeing everybody walking in two’s while I walk alone, I just wanted to make myself invisible” she said. Being quite and shy at the time for her made things even more difficult because she never had anything to say to total strangers. As the year went by she found a church similar to the one she attends back home ( River of Life church), at this church she was able to make friends who she could really connect with and since then she has had this bright smile on her face whenever she walks around campus.

Ntombifuthi was also challenged when she failed her first economics test and almost failed her first economics essay. She was disappointed in herself she never thought that she would fail and she really believed that she had given her best. As bad as it was she did not give up, she decided to work harder. She prayed for God to guide her while she studied because she believed that there was something that she was not doing right and yes, God answered her prayers and she was able to pull through. Ntombifuthi was able to get very good results in the June exams, she got two B plus and two A’s and she says she would have not been able to do this without God on her side. Ntombifuthi believes everything is possible if you put your mind to it and not forget to pray.

Twisting her short black hair Ntombifuthi explains how lucky she feels about being at Rhodes University. She also tells me that God helps those who are willing to be helped, if you just sit around and not do anything nothing will be brought to you on a silver platter. Ntombifuthi also says that talking to second year students who are doing the same subjects as she is doing did not help her because they kept on telling her how difficult it is to pass and how many people did not make it to second year and this brought more pressure into her life.

Ntombifuthi also says that there is no secrete to studying except to focus on your school work and not forgetting the reason why you are at Rhodes University. Ntombifuthi’s advice to first year students is “Be yourself and do not let anyone change you, do not let your peers influence you and stand up for yourself and what you believe in”.

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Ntombifuthi Phakathi g08p2182@campus.ru.ac.za