South Africa’s Mongiwa Hazel Ntuli has made history as one of the University of Pretoria’s youngest-ever graduates, earning a degree in Actuarial Science. She completed her degree at age 17 at a time when most of her peers were still in high school.
Originally from Rosettenville, Johannesburg, Ntuli began her university studies in 2022 after accelerating through primary and secondary school, the University of Pretoria said on May 28 ahead of her graduation.
“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,” Ntuli said of how her academic talents were recognised early. “My teacher identified this and allowed me to write more Grade 4 papers, and saw that I performed exceptionally well.”
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By 2022, Ntuli had enrolled at the University of Pretoria after an amazing academic leap that placed her ahead of her peers. Despite Ntuli’s brilliance, being younger than her classmates came with its own challenges.
“Many students treated me like the little sister they never had,” she said. “There were a lot of expectations of me, and it got difficult to meet those expectations.”
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Ntuli however succeeded thanks to the support of lecturers, friends, and mentors including her house mother, Zamile, her departmental mentor Refilwe Lehobo, and the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Merit Awards team.
“I always reminded myself of why I’d started, and made sure that my ‘why’ was strong enough,” she said.
“Having multiple vision boards kept me on track, and of course, prayer.”
Ntuli is now the first in her family to graduate from university. “My parents will have their much-deserved bragging rights,” she said. “It will alleviate a lot of pressure and burdens that my family has been carrying for so long.”
Ntuli is currently pursuing an honours degree and has no plans to slow down.
“After this, I’m planning to both work and further my studies. I’ve always wanted an MBA.”
Looking ahead, she also hopes to qualify as an actuary and enter the business world.
This is her advice to young people who would like to follow in her footsteps: “Be teachable. You don’t know everything. Learn how to fail forward. Take your losses, mix them up with perseverance and grit. Be like a baby when taking on a challenge – ready to receive all the knowledge and wisdom you can.”
