Yumna Laher

Yumna Laher
Degree: Master of Arts in International Relations
Nominating Institution: University of the Witwatersrand
Institution of Study: University of the Witwatersrand

Joining a long and proud list of Mandela Rhodes Scholars from Wits, is an unassuming young Masters student in International Relations.  Yumna Laher was elected as one of only 23 new Mandela Rhodes Scholars to form the ‘Class of 2012’ and is the only Wits student in the 2012 cohort.

Laher completed matric in 2007 at St Mary’s School and enrolled at Wits in 2008. She completed a BA degree in 2010 cum laude and her BA Honours in International Relations in 2011, also cum laude.  She was awarded the Lipschitz Family Prize in 2009, the International Relations Third Year Award an the International Relations Undergraduate Award in 2010 as well as the International Relations Honours Award in 2011.  Laher is reading for her Master of Arts in International Relations in 2012, as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar.

Yumna has served in leadership positions on a number of committees. She is a strategic advisor for the GUTS: Go to University to Succeed Student Equity and Talent Management Programme at Wits.  In 2010 she was selected to participate in the DA Young Leader’s Programme. In 2009 she was elected as a representative of historically disadvantaged and disabled students in the University Forum and she has been a member of the Disability Awareness Movement since 2008.

There are very few suitable words that can describe the honour of carrying a scholarship that bears the name of Nelson Mandela.  From the moment I was nominated for the Scholarship by my Head of School to the moment I met other short-listed candidates, I realised that I was a part of something special – a concerted effort to ensure that our country and continent nurtures the leadership capacity essential to ensuring that the legacy of Mandela is safe in our hands.

Being selected as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar has allowed me to develop a set of skills and build a network of highly-motivated individuals both essential to consolidating my role in South Africa’s and Africa’s future.  Because of the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship, I consistently aspire to be more, live more and do more in both the academic and leadership aspects of my life but, most importantly, I feel a deep responsibility to share my experiences in a way that fosters opportunities for others.  Nelson Mandela aptly notes that “a good head and a good heart is always a formidable combination” and to the extent that the privilege of my education cannot be separated from my responsibility to serve those who have had less than me, this statement is of enduring value.

Although ecstatic about receiving the Scholarship, it has since left me with a deep sense of responsibility to use the opportunity I have been given with care.  The Mandela Rhodes experience has reinforced parts of my character I hope to be remembered for; the dignity with which I treat others, the honesty with which I approach my decisions, and the integrity with which I live my life.  It has allowed me to be me; a little more grounded, more confident, definitely more qualified and infinitely blessed with the experience of a lifetime.  In 2013, I hope to take what I have learnt here with me as I complete my studies in law.  Ultimately, my objectives are not material - they are about the change that will make the corporate world in which I work cleaner and the decisions made by the companies I legally advise more considerate.  Receiving the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship is more than just a prize, it is a call to proactively fashion a world in whose legacy we can all be proud to be a part. 

http://www.wits.ac.za/newsroom/newsitems/201201/14854/news_item_14854.html