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 Priya Pillay.
If it hadn’t been for her parents and grandparents’ hard work, Priya Pillay wouldn’t have been able to be a first-year MB,ChB student at Stellenbosch University.
“They faced adverse times to raise and educate themselves and their family. My grandparents started off with nothing, yet enforced the importance of education and in so doing gave my parents the key to their future, that has now been passed on to me.”
Their work ethic also passed on to Pillay, who matriculated for St Dunstan’s College in Benoni with six distinctions and currently studies five to seven hours per day. “Don’t count the days, but make the days count,” is her mantra.
Pillay is interested in treating and ‘fixing’ the human body, but hopes one day to be able to heal not only physical wounds, but also the wounds of society.
She describes herself as an open-minded soul-searcher on the path to happiness and she is inspired by the multitude of opportunities available in the modern world, eager to find and make use of them.
“The purpose of life is finding what you love and being good at it, so that it influences people’s lives in a positive way.”
Quick questions:
- Best time-management tip? “Limit social media and cellphone time. Switch off data during the times you need to complete a task.”
- Can you cook or bake? “Yes (both).”
- Signature dish(es)? “Stuffed marinara mozzarella and spinach chicken, and a rosewater cream meringue cake.”
- Message to campus? “In difficult times, we must support each other and unite.”
