WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
At Excel@Uni, our commitment to scholarship and bursary management doesn’t end when the funds are disbursed. It continues as students transform their funding opportunities into outcomes. This page is dedicated to celebrating the journeys of our alumni, whose success stories are a testament to the power of strategic bursary services that prioritise holistic student success and student development.
Our alumni are now engineers, doctors, accountants, educators, and entrepreneurs each one a living example of how effective student support systems can drive real transformation.
These are students who have benefited from our scholarship and bursary administration, continuous performance monitoring, academic support, structured mentoring and career readiness workshops, all delivered through Excel@Uni’s leading integrated student success ecosystem.
We believe education funding is more than a compliance requirement, it’s a long-term skills development investment. If you're a corporate bursary manager or NGO scholarship manager looking to make a measurable impact, let these stories inspire your next move.
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’’.