The future looks bright for six Matie students who have received bursaries from the Tomorrow Trust, a generous Stellenbosch University (SU) donor and non-profit organisation that was started in 2005 to support high need, high potential children throughout their educational journey.
Thanks to these bursaries, the recipients – who would not, had the opportunity to attend university due to financial constraints and whose study fields range from Medicine and Economics to Agriculture - will get the opportunity to reach their full potential as self-sustaining and proactive members of society.
"Education for us is the vehicle that drives change in the lives of individuals, in a way that allows them to better their own circumstances, their families’ lives, their communities as well as contribute on a macro-level to the South African economy," says Stacey Rontiris, Head of Post-Secondary & Counselling Psychologist at the Tomorrow Trust.
"The approach that we take towards education is not only academic but rather focuses on supporting students in a holistic manner, allowing them to grow in a way so that they may become self-sustainable, independent individuals. This is done in many ways through our various programmes, but our ultimate goal is always to help our students be the best versions of themselves. We do not have a 'one shoe fits all' policy, but rather provide individualised and tailored support for each learner," Rontiris adds.
According to Rontiris, the Tomorrow Trust has supported a small number of students at SU since 2013, but this year decided to support a larger cohort.
She says they made this decision following the impressive direction the University has taken over the past few years, coupled with the calibre of Maties students they have come across. "In collaborating, we have been particularly happy with the consistent and continued support we have seen the students receive, as well as the commitment and dedication of the staff we have worked with thus far. All of these factors combined made it very easy for us to decide that we wanted to focus more on Stellenbosch University and we look forward to growing our relationship over the next few years."
She says the cohort of students that they have offered bursaries to this year will hopefully be the foundation of their base in the Western Cape. "Our bursaries are for the entire duration of a student’s studies and are automatically renewed each year as long as the students pass, and meet certain other requirements," she explains.
She says they handle bursary applications on a case-by-case basis. "While our application form has some criteria, we treat each applicant as an individual and consider all factors influencing the student’s life before making a decision. We do not automatically exclude applications based on academic performance or family income. We take a more human approach to our application process and generally look for students who are high in need and who have high potential."
The bursary recipients will also get the opportunity to pay it forward once they have reached their full potential. "All students who graduate from the Tomorrow Trust Post-Secondary Department enter our Alumni programme. Our Alumni are committed to giving back in some way to our current students, be it financially or through mentoring or tutoring of other students," Rontiris says.
She stresses they want to work with students who are not only driven and determined to improve themselves and their circumstances for the better, but who are also hungry to learn and who will grab all opportunities that come their way. “Our model has shown over the years that when students enter the programme, no matter their current academic performance, as long as they are open to growing, they will do so on an academic and a personal level.”
