Where Are They Now?
Sinethemba Cele
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Sinethemba, joined the graduate programme at Rand Merchant Bank.
“I benefited a lot with Excel@uni in terms of support during my years of studies.
My mentor used to give me practical guidance on my personal development, especially when I had my specific issues that affected me academically. He also helped me a lot in terms of setting up my CV to appeal to the recruiters, and I still use that structure and advice up until today when I update my CV. I also attended several workshops, one that I still remember is the PowerPoint training. This helped my PowerPoint skills to improve, and the nice thing about these short courses is that you could add them to your LinkedIn profile and your CV. Furthermore, you could get endorsement on these skills from your peers.
The other thing that I found useful was the Strengthfinder assessment tool which assesses one’s personality and where one is best suited to work and/or careers one can pursue. I will forever be grateful for this, especially.”
Katlego Nkomo
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Katlego pursued his master’s degree in architecture at University of Pretoria and worked as a junior architectural designer.
“I learned a lot about time management, and I still use it today. The second thing my mentor really helped with is expressing myself fully and properly. I am normally someone that uses a lot of slang and abbreviations, but my mentor asked me to read a book and give a summary of the book. The initial draft of the summary was not very well articulated. I was using words like Hmmm and abbreviations like I’m, It was really bad. It was not like I could not write but it was something I was not taking a note of, now I proofread everything even my WhatsApp texts”
Basetsana Jokozela
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Basetsana joined the graduate programme at Growthpoint Properties.
“Excel@uni was very helpful to me especially when I initially joined the mentorship programme. At the time, I was still funded by another bursary. The bursary covered only my tuition and books, but it did not cover groceries, so I was struggling with that. However, my Excel@Uni mentor helped me a lot. She helped me put together a motivational letter for the Growthpoint bursary. I managed to get an interview and I was awarded the bursary with Growthpoint. The bursary covered everything including tuition, books and groceries.”
Danialle Lotz
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Danialle joined the Coronation internship programme.
“Excel@Uni provided a great support structure during my university journey. During my final year, I had a lot of anxiety and stress issues. However, with Excel@uni, I had someone to talk to, who would listen to me.
The CV preparation and Interview preparation webinars helped me a lot. As I speak now, I still use the same CV I used when we completed the CV preparation course. The Interview readiness was also very great in preparing me for interviews and acing my interviews.
One thing I would like from the Lungela Career Readiness or Mentorship offering is for the programme to continue for at least the first six months of starting in the work environment. You know when you are just getting started in the workspace, everything is new. Things can be overwhelming and frustrating at work sometimes, and if that mentorship and support could stay for six months as we start our careers it would help a lot.”
Nhlanhla Mdlalose
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Nhlanhla joined JP Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Banking division.
“I was quite big on making connections while I was studying, I was strategic and conscious about what I was studying and what opportunities were available for me. I believe this is what I learnt from my Excel@Uni mentor at the time. Our engagements more focused on preparing for the future. For example, I was doing well at school, studying finance and Accounting, and I was coming from a math and science background in high school. What was important was preparing myself for the future, understanding the whole purpose of what I was studying”
Monica Vumani
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Monica joined Concor as a Quantity Surveyor.
“I joined Excel@Uni in my third year. Through Excel@Uni, I got exposed to the career readiness programmme. This programme helped me realize the importance of gaining work experience. Through the programme, Excel@Uni helped me learn how to write a CV and motivational letter and they would encourage us, cohort of students at the time, to apply for part-time jobs while we were at university to gain experience and exposure in the work environment. This was done to prepare us for the real world of employment after graduation. I am very grateful for this. This what I took from Excel@Uni, and as a mentor now at Excel@Uni, I also encourage my mentees to do the same.”
Yuriska Reddy
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Yuriska joined the graduate programme at Growthpoint Properties.
Lance Bartlett
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Lance joined South32 as a Graduate Engineer.
Thapelo Letsoalo
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduating, Thapelo joined the Investment Banking Graduate programme at Citi group.
Portia Monaheng
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduation, Portia joined Abland as a Project Management Intern.
Boikano Monareng
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduating, Boikano joined Ford Motor Company as a Graduate Trainee and 5 years since, she is presently an Assistant Tax Manager at KPMG in the United Kingdom.
As someone who lives by the philosophy of not waiting until graduation to start applying for graduate career opportunities, she commends Excel@Uni’s mentorship program for incorporating CV and cover letter drafting exercises as well as prioritising knuckling down on her networking skills and market research abilities.
She recalls how incredibly shy she indeed was as a student, humorously admitting “I hardly spoke”. She is thankful for Excel@Uni’s part in her escaping her shell and how she has since grown into an avid negotiator. This catalysed the way she learns and develops professionally, through continuously engaging with senior employees– and – asking questions when she does not know the answer.
Yulandi Sikidi
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduating, Yulandi joined Growthpoint Properties as a Sustainability and Utilities Graduate and after being in the working world for 2.5 years, Yulandi is now a Sustainable Finance Analyst at Absa Group.
Yulandi has proven her ability to climb the corporate ladder and in reminiscing on her experiences with Excel@Uni she credits her awareness of the demands of the working world to Excel@Uni’s active involvement in getting students to think about their career aspirations constructively, before graduating, not waiting until after. Achieved by Excel@Uni’s orchestrated mentorship program that includes CV and cover letter drafting exercises as well as evaluating and advising students’ constructively on both their LinkedIn profiles and their use of it to intentionally engage relevant professionals and keep abreast of the job market.
She fondly recalls that it was the brushing up of her networking with professionals’ skills that assisted her with landing her first role given that she networked.
Charmaine Mbatha
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduating, Charmaine joined Mercedes-Benz South Africa as a Graduate Engineer and has since been at the company for nearly 5 years, she now holds the position of Robotics Specialist.
Charmaine particularly enjoyed having access to Excel@Uni’s MILA app. She fondly recalls the convenience it brought her when uploading pertinent documents and how this allowed for seamless communication with her sponsor. As someone who did not have a laptop as a student, she was elated that the MILA app could be used on her phone. Before, she would have to spend late hours at the computer lab just to email her documents to her sponsor.
In addition to the operational efficiency, she expressed that having access to MILA felt like having a friend. Given the wellness updates weekly prompts that checked in on her psycho-social wellbeing whenever she logged onto the app. The option of requesting a tutor to ensure her academic progress did not falter. In saying this she could not stress more how chuffed she was that Excel@Uni had formulated a system of care that acknowledges how psycho-social well-being, academic pressure and document submission can and does impact students’ ability to excel at university.
Lesego Segano
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduating, Lesego joined Vukile Property Fund Limited as an Intern and after approximately
one year took up the position he currently holds as a Strategic Planning and Project Specialist.
As a former avid sportsman Lesego lives by the philosophy that a healthy mind needs a healthy
body. So too an aspirant professional needs professional work-seeking documents. He is therefore
thankful for the part played by Excel@Uni and particularly the mentor assigned to him throughout
his university experience. He recalls the guidance and critique he was afforded when tasked with
drafting a professional CV and cover letter(s). He lauds how having been held accountable in this
way taught him how to communicate his value and abilities professionally and conversely, how he
indeed needed to take a step back and reflect on how Lesego is – and can be – valuable and able.
Samuel Theu
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduating, Samuel joined Growthpoint Properties as an Operations Manager. He recently
joined City Property as a Property Manager.
In addition to the assistance he received with drafting a professionally written and structured CV and
cover letter, Samuel particularly reflected on his appreciation of having been held accountable
consistently by his mentor. He views the professional etiquette and sense of taking responsibility for
one’s personal and professional growth as inseparable with how he has so far progressed in his
career. He is immensely thankful to Excel@Uni and his assigned mentor for encouraging these
qualities and appreciates how it has meaningfully filtered into how he obliges his duties and
relationships at work.
Lerato Lepholletse
Excel@Uni Alumni
After completing her degree, Lerato joined Coronation Fund Managers as a Personal Investments
Validations intern. She’s been performing this role for just shy of two years to date.
Lerato particularly enjoyed the mentorship program. She recalls how she frequently dreaded the
monthly check-ins with her mentor regarding her progress in the goals she set out to achieve based
on her Personal development Plan. Looking back in hindsight, she now believes that having been
held accountable by her mentor to stay abreast of pursuing her stated goals has helped her develop
structure as a working professional.
Lerato has since come to appreciate how her exposure to a mentor who held her accountable has
left her in an advantageous position when it comes to taking responsibility for planning her short,
medium, and long-term goals. That pursuing her goals is achievable through consistent, bite-sized
action taken.
Additionally, Lerato credits her mentor for bringing to her attention the benefit of establishing social
capital through strategic networking. Coming from a small community in North West where not
many people are in the professional industry versus attending UCT where a portion of students
come from families who are well-established and well connected, left her anxious about connecting
with people from dissimilar backgrounds to her own.
She is thankful that her mentor encouraged her to conquer her said anxiety. She has since used that
confidence at her workplace, where captivating and concise communication increases your value
above and beyond technical skills.
Siphe Mgcaleka
Excel@Uni Alumni
After completing his degree, Siphe completed two internships before joining Massel Property
Services as a Candidate Valuer. He was then approached by one of the companies he interned at and
is since a Professional Valuer at Eris Property Group.
Siphe remembers how afraid he was of losing his bursary. He therefore prioritized his studies, but
this caused him a great deal of stress. To quote him ‘the mentorship part was amazing’. Having a
mentor to speak to and relate with was the highlight of his experience with Excel@Uni. It allowed
him to take stock of his development with a mentor who was happy to enrich his perspective about
the workplace.
He is thankful that his mentor took the time to share his experience within the workplace along with
proven ways of navigating challenges within the workplace. He revealed that, to this day, he
continues to communicate with his mentor.
Hakhakhi Clinton
Excel@Uni Alumni
Hakhakhi Clinton graduated with a Diploma in Business Management and Degree in Business Administration and is currently working as a Digital Media Specialist.
‘’The guidance was much needed and necessary. I was exposed to the LinkedIn world, taught how to approach interviews and really dig deep into research for the career I was about to immerse myself in – not forgetting mentorship which helped me in more ways that I can begin to mention’’.
Kgomotso Mkhwanazi
Excel@Uni Alumni
After graduating with a BSc Honours in Property studies Kgomotso Mkhwanazi went on to work as a Property Finance Analyst.
Excel@Uni has helped me so much, I don’t think I would be where I am without them or even believe in myself the way I do. I had some of the best mentors who actually cared not only about my academic performance, but also about me as a person. They’ve helped me through everything I faced while being in varsity. My mentor also helped me a lot with my CV and cover letter. She gave me good constructive criticism that later helped me in my search for a job.
Siphe Mgcaleka
Excel@Uni Alumni
Hulisani Madala completed a BCom Honours in Property Valuation from The University of Johannesburg and is currently working in her dream field of Property and Real Estate.
Excel@Uni is a programme designed to enhance students’ academic and professional skills. It offers workshops and resources to develop essential techniques and skills. The programme helped me to apply theoretical knowledge to practical tasks, enhancing productivity and accuracy preparing me for job market roles. The programme also aids in problem-solving, teamwork, and confidence, boosting performance and opportunities in both academic and professional settings
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