Johannesburg - Fourways High School learner Lesego Mashego shares the details of her academic journey, and adds that she hopes to become a chemical engineer.
Lesego, who explained that her matric year had challenges, said she was pleased to see her preliminary results because she sometimes doubted her capabilities.
With her family’s support and encouragement, the 17-year-old was able to stay motivated until her final exams.
Lesego was named in Gauteng’s top achievers list for obtaining more than five distinctions. She obtained six distinctions in English home language, Afrikaans first additional, maths, accounting, information technology and physical sciences.
In conversation with The Star, she said one of the biggest highlights for her in 2022 was her matric dance.
“The whole year was filled with so many events and so many highlights, but the biggest one for me was my matric dance. I just loved that evening and will forever treasure that memory.
“I did face some challenges. One challenge was staying focused, especially while studying. And during my prelims,
“I struggled to stay focused because there was this long period between my exams. I let myself get distracted a little bit because I had been working for so long before that. I decided to take a break, but then the break lasted longer than it should have, but eventually I got back into studying again,” Lesego said.
“I was very proud seeing my prelim results, mostly because I tend to doubt myself, and tend to doubt my work, and it was really great to see that all my efforts produced such great results.”
Speaking about her academic year, she said it had felt “really rushed”.
“Throughout the year, we were constantly reminded that we had limited time to complete the entire syllabus in each subject. I was concerned about whether or not that would be possible, but fortunately I was able to keep up and not struggle with all that pressure. And, I was also able to improve my marks in certain areas throughout the year.”
Asked about the drive behind her success, she mentioned her family.
“The support from my family has been great. They have tried to let me know and assure me that I have done well and shouldn’t stress, and they have helped me stay calm while we are waiting for my results.
“We have also started planning what I’m going to do this year and where I’m going to go,” she said.
She revealed that she had applied to various universities in South Africa in the hope of pursuing a career in chemical engineering.
The Star