​As part of its 60th-anniversary celebrations, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is introducing 60 future healthcare professionals who are currently in their first year. Meet Wilhelm Mulder Zaayman.

Wilhelm Mulder Zaayman dreams of one day being a respected physiotherapist, touching the lives of children with disabilities.

“I wanted to make the biggest difference that I can, and physiotherapy will allow me exactly that,” he explains his decision to study BSc Physiotherapy at Stellenbosch University.

Zaayman, a first-year Huis Kerkenberg resident from Upington, says though the year has been challenging, the experience has been even better than what he expected. He says the best thing about his new campus life is meeting new people and developing friendships, even if being away from his family has been tough.

He describes his mom as his best friend and also as a role model for success. “She has a wonderful job, a kind heart and has done everything she could to ensure that she given it her all.”

He thinks a balance between social and academic commitments is important. While he enjoys going for his daily run, dancing and watching movies to relax, he would advise students to be disciplined with their time: “Play hard, but work even harder!”

Did you know…

• He loves Chinese food and also loves cooking his own orange chicken stir-fry.
• He completed high school in America.
• During study breaks he likes having his own  “30-second intense dance parties”.
• Adele and Beyoncé are his two favourite artists.
• He would like to one day be a professor to be able to share the knowledge he has gained.