Hard work and networking – the key to UJ alumni’s stellar trajectory Xolani Mzileni
For someone so young and having faced so much hardship and struggle in his life, UJ alumnus Xolani Mzileni is nothing short of exemplary, a shining example of courage and leadership in the face of adversity. Xolani, 29, graduated from UJ in 2018 with a BTech (Hons) degree in Quality Management, being awarded the Engineering Faculty’s top student. The following year he began his amazing US journey. Xolani is currently studying at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was a USA Student Exchange at Appalachian State University in 2019, and currently, he’s doing a full-time Master’s in Public Policy and Administration at the Institute of Technology in Illinois, to be his home for the next few years before returning to South Africa to share his knowledge and skills. “UJ paved the way for me and created so many opportunities, including the opportunity to participate in organisations like the Golden Key International Honour Society (where Xolani served as co-vice president in 2020), the Engineering Council of SA, and the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management International Society (where he was president in 2020),” he says. Furthermore, one of his crowning achievements was as
the Marketing Director of the Engineering Council of South Africa NGO in 2021. But there were years of terrible uncertainty and anxiety along the way. Born in Katlehong, Johannesburg, Xolani grew up in a community that had no essential services such as running water, healthcare facilities, and housing. He failed Grade 11, repeating it in 2011. “At one point, I was told it was the end, but I just prayed about it and moved on,” he recalls. After completing his matric, Xolani couldn’t go on to college or university. “I was forced to take a gap year in 2014 because I had a problem with my ID document, and I had to work on informal construction for long hours with a daily rate of R80 ($5.50). Nonetheless, he and two friends in matric started a programme called Life Sciences Movement , to teach life sciences and geography to high school students struggling with these subjects. “We grew from two students to over 250 students in more than 10 high schools around Katlehong,” he says. Xolani then applied and got admitted to study for a Diploma in Management Services at UJ. In his second year, he hit another snag. “I had no funding, but giving up was not an option. I decided
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ALUMNI IMPUMELELO
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