Bachelor of Business Science in Investment Science student Mr Kiash Baldeo’s passion for numbers paired with hard work, consistency and determination is the recipe behind his academic success.
The top achiever’s excellent academic performance has not only earned him the UKZN 100th Anniversary Scholarship, but it also gained him recognition as one of KwaZulu-Natal’s top achievers in the 2020 National Senior Certificate (NSC) matric exams and saw Baldeo being awarded an Entrant Merit Scholarship by UKZN in 2021.
‘I’ve set myself a goal of maintaining the Merit Scholarship by obtaining a semester average of 80% and above for each year of my degree. The R25 000 Merit Scholarship was an extremely helpful financial relief for my parents and the Prestige Scholarship is obviously a much more massive help. I’m not only happy that I’ve been able to meet my goal for the past three years, but I’ve well exceeded it!’ said Baldeo.
Achieving academic excellence has not been without its challenges for Baldeo, who not only had to navigate transitioning from high school to university but also the academic demands of pursuing his degree.
‘The workload and required pace of learning is much greater for a university degree compared to high school, therefore, the first year was quite challenging. Another major challenging period that I faced during my studies was in my third year (2023) when I was completing my undergraduate studies, preparing for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 examination to write in February 2024 and privately tutoring in first-year Mathematics and Statistics,’ he said.
With aspirations of working in the asset and investment management industry, Baldeo says what keeps him motivated is focusing on achieving his goals.
‘I was able to manage all my responsibilities and then excel in my studies due to planning and discipline. I believe in careful planning and then sticking to that plan. I say that one minute spent planning is 10 minutes saved in execution. In terms of discipline, I live by the motto: “No sacrifice, no victory.” I’m happy to share that I was successful in all my endeavours and commitments, and passed the CFA Level 1 exam in the 90th percentile and I hope to eventually earn the CFA charter.’
Words and photograph: Ayanda Radebe