Thank you for giving me the opportunity to document my development post St George’s.

I joined St George’s at the start of my high school career in 1988, back then it was still an all-boys school. I remember what a change to the culture it was when the first girls joined the following year. A good change nonetheless as part of St George's was always centered around inclusion.

 

My class however remained boys only right up until we all matriculated in 1992. After this I decided to pursue a studies in the field of science. Although my mind wasn't quite set yet on what the eventual outcome of my studies would be. In 1994 I enrolled for a B.Sc degree at UWC. Upon completion in 1997, I left the sunny shores of SA to spend a year in the even sunnier and drier dessert of Cairo pursuing the field of medical science. I eventually returned to SA in 2000 and enrolled back at UWC for a B. Pharm degree and completed my studies in the field of pharmacy.

 

Post this I worked for some multinationals and have held senior positions in some of the top private hospitals as well as the Blood Transfusion Service where I had been fortunate to run a plant (of which there were only two on the entire continent) which specialized in the production of human plasma derived medications. It was at this stage, another 10 years after completing my pharmacy degree in 2013 when I enrolled and completed another 3 years stint obtaining my MBA.

 

I had subsequently moved on to holding production manager positions at GSK Cape Town before eventually being persuaded to join a local company in 2018 that has placed me in charge of their production of African plant extracts for medicinal use. A large portion of the business is the fact that we are now spearheading the development of cannabis derived medicines for which we are currently the market leaders.

 

In my spare time I still lecture at the business school. Although not quite with the same authoritative tone as Mr Cannon, I now understand the effort and pride our teachers put into their work to ensure their students become a success,

 

The teachings at St George’s have always been the bedrock of my success. It has given me the determination to drive towards my success and even if the results aren't desirable at first that I always take the positives from it in that failure too can add to ones development, provided you learn from it and can pick yourself up from that point. As the late Mr Geoff Burton once said, "it’s not important to be the best, just make sure you do your best, then everything will be alright." I remember the words of Mr Cannon always stating that one needs to "have balance in ones life" and that is something I firmly believe and strive for.

 

My memories and link with St George’s remains strong to this very day in that I firmly believe in the values and developmental path the school sets one on in developing your individual potential, always breaking the mould in terms of what traditional academic schooling focuses on. This is the reason I have chosen to send my daughter on the same wonderful path of discovery and development and I must thank Mr Cannon for facilitating the process in making a second generation member of our family embark on this incredible journey.