Mastercard Scholars 2016 cohort off to a flying start

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cape Town welcomed 20 new scholars for the 2016 cohort. As part of their orientation, the scholars set off on a tour of the Cape Peninsula where they had the opportunity to acquaint themselves with their new home away from home.

The guided tour started off in Cape Town's city centre where the scholars were presented with the Mother City's rich heritage and history, and Table Mountain with its iconic "table cloth" in the background. The tour continued along the Atlantic Seaboard with stops at popular spots, such as Clifton Beach, before heading onto the spectacular Chapman's Peak Drive where a special stop was made for selfies. The final leg of the tour included a visit to Ocean View – one of Cape Town’s townships – to indulge in various arts and culture performances and a two-course lunch prepared by the locals.

'A great opportunity'

The scholars found the tour very informative and also had the opportunity to meet with their assigned peer mentors in a small meet-and-greet event. In a team-building exercise, scholars were grouped in teams and challenged each other in a ten-pin bowling challenge. This is what one of the scholars had to say about the event:

“My very first time of playing ten-pin bowling was when Mastercard Foundation Scholars were having a meet-and-greet with their campus life peer mentors. I was excited to say the least, not for the bowling ‘it was never on my list’, but to see who would be my mentor. We got to the bowling area and chatted with our mentors and fellow mentees. It is amazing the kind of people you meet - being part of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars is a great opportunity. The diversity in people and their studies is astounding but somehow we all have the same attitude to being future leaders in our chosen fields.

"After the meet-and-greet the games began; one group of eight people and we were all playing for a prize. I was anxious and had good reason, it seems. My ball rolled down but came to a complete stop right in the middle of the gutter - funny enough, it was stuck in the gutter until a whole round passed and someone else’s ball hit it. It was mortifyingly hilarious and I eventually accepted that I was not suited for bowling; however, I would not change that day for anything. Since we all like trying new things; we have done it and will continue doing it.”