They say that variety is the spice of life, and in this edition of Eish! the articles about our staff members’ different interests, talents and achievements clearly underline this saying.

Take Innocentia Pitso and Lynn Booysen for instance. They were among the top students of 2017 in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences on the campus in Vanderbijlpark and firmly believe that you should never stop learning and honing your skills.

 

However, not all of us find fulfilment between the pages of text books. For some of us our passion lies in making a difference in people’s lives. For example, in the article about the team at the Student Counselling and Development department, you can read how they reach out to students from Potchefstroom’s local community to teach them leadership skills.

 

For most of us, handwriting is only a way of communicating (if you really don’t have an electronic device nearby). However, for talented Mohsin Sayed from our campus in Vanderbijlpark, writing – and the art of calligraphy in particular – is a cherished hobby.

 

Another illustration of how wonderfully different we are, is that some of us shy away from the limelight, whereas one of our exceptional students, Sam Junior Mbatha, flourishes under the stage or camera lights.

 

While some of us use our generous hearts or huge personalities to make this world a better place, others harness their innovative minds to find solutions for the challenges that we and our planet face. Among them are the colleagues who recently launched a weather radar network that will have real-world impact on issues such as droughts, flash-flooding and other weather-related events.

 

Yes, the NWU community is indeed a colourful potpourri of people who keep on surprising and excelling, thereby adding a wonderful flavour to life.

 

Happy reading,