Honorary Member Ceremony
About Golden Key
Golden Key is the world’s largest collegiate honour society. Membership into the Society is by invitation only and applies to the top 15% of college and university sophomores, juniors and seniors, as well as top-performing graduate students in all fields of study, based solely on their academic achievements.
Golden Key has chapters at over 400 colleges and universities in Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, The Bahamas and the United States.
Golden Key wants: To enable you to realize your potential through the advancement of academics, leadership and community service. always show Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, Respect, Diversity, Excellence and Engagement
Greetings from Southern Africa
Dr. Elmie Castleman
Keynote Address
Dr. Michael Sanseviro
Dr. Michael Sanseviro is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Golden Key, and has served in numerous leadership roles in the society, including former International Leadership Council President and chapter advisor for over a decade. Michael serves as the Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Dean of Students at Georgia State University, where Golden Key was founded. He has served multiple higher education institutions throughout his 30 year career, and received numerous recognitions for his work.
2020 Honorary Members
Mrs Celiwe Chemane Nyathi
Mrs Celiwe Chemane Nyathi is a philanthropist, young vibrant energetic motivational speaker and life coach from Umzimkulu in a small village called Driefontein location kwaMthwane.
She is the president and the founder of Hope Celiwe Development Organisation (HCDO), which is a nonprofit organization with its vision to give hope to all nations through empowerment and developing the society. Through this organisation she is able to reach out to as many people as possible by giving hope and evangelising
Dr Maditsane Johannes Nkonoane
Started his career as a History and English teacher at Lephola Secondary School in Thabong, Welkom from 1990 to 1994. Worked as a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the Welkom Campus of the erstwhile Vista University from 1995 to 2000 and later worked as Academic Development Practitioner at the same campus between 2001 and 2003 in the Department of Student of Affairs. From 2004 to 2009, worked as Manager: Student Services at the newly incorporated Welkom Campus of Central University of Technology, Free State and later appointed as Deputy Campus Director from February 2010 to January 2019. Currently working as Dean of Students at the Durban University of Technology as at February 2019
Mr Aubrey Gilbert Diswai
Aubrey holds B Iuris and LLB degrees from University of the North (now known as University of Limpopo) which he obtained in 1993 and 1995 respectively. After attending the Practical Legal Training School of the Law Society of South Africa in Johannesburg and services of Articles of Clerkship, Aubrey was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 1998
Mr Benjamin Solomon Buckingham
Benjamin Buckingham is an entrepreneur with experience in the online technology and talent management fields. As Managing Director, he has set-up the South African arm of HFMtalentindex, an online talent management and analytics solution with a global footprint. In October 2019, HFMtalentindex was purchased by Assessio International, backed by Main Capital Partners, and now forms part of the Assessio Group with offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Oslo.
Dr George Gustaaf Wolvaardt
Dr. Gustaaf Wolvaardt is an internal medicine specialist with post graduate qualifications in higher education and management. After leaving academia, he served as the first South African Health Attaché in Geneva tasked with normalizing South Africa’s international health relations. In 1997, under the auspices of the South African Medical Association, he established FPD, a private institution of higher education with a mission to catalyze social change through developing people, strengthening systems and providing innovative solutions
Mr Jaintheran Gopaul Naidoo
Jaintheran Naidoo is a registered industrial/ organisational psychologist with 20 years of experience within the IO space. He has experience in various areas, including both the private and public sectors. His areas of passion lie in management/ leadership development, workshop facilitation and talent management strategy. His work has taken him around world, where he has facilitated HR interventions in countries such as Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Mauritius.
Ms Mpho Thahale
I am rooted in the advancement of Institutional Development in Africa. I hold a Bachelor of Arts majoring in International Relations from University of Witwatersrand. I am passionate about investigating the complexities of the community development. Passionate about progressive development of women and students, in the digital age. My qualification has prepared me to work with different institutions of which a notable number of those are global. My passion is purely in
leadership development, talent alignment and managing different talents in the work space and career.
Ms Petro Boshoff
Mrs Petro Boshoff has a Honours Degree in Social Work and is currently employed as a Social Worker at the Thuso Crisis Centre @ Student Counselling and Development, North West University Potchefstroom Campus for the past seven years. She is passionate about youth and guiding them through personal growth especially through team development sessions. She is also involved in guidance and assisting with the student’s involvement in community based outreach programmes and strongly believes that in developing students involvement in these programmes you indirectly have a positive spill over on impacting communities as well.
Prof Robert Balfour
Robert is an experienced manager with 15 years of academic and administrative leadership in public and private higher education. Frequently invited as keynote speaker on language and education in South Africa and beyond, he has also served as peer reviewer to education institutions such as UKZN, Wits, NWU and UFS for the CHE. Besides being an applied linguist, postcolonial literary critic and educationist, Balfour is an exhibited painter, exhibiting for the first time in a group exhibition in Cambridge in 2003, and then at ArtSpace Gallery in Durban in 2007 and 2015 respectively. Occasionally, Balfour has also published poetry and short fiction in literary journals in the USA, Australia, and South Africa. He believes creative and scholarly work to be complementary.
Prof Ylva Rodney-Gumede
Professor Ylva Rodny-Gumede is the Head of the Division for Internationalisation and a Professor in the School of Communication at the University of Johannesburg. She is also a Senior Associate Researcher with the Stanhope Centre for International Communications Policy Research at the London School of Economics. She holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London University as well as an MA degree in Politics from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and an MA in Journalism from Cardiff University in the U.K.
Prof Yaseen Ally
Yaseen Ally is a Research Psychologist and Registered Counsellor. He is also an associate professor in the department of psychology at Nelson Mandela University, where he teaches at the undergrad and postgrad levels. His research passion rests with cultural psychology, as well as gender studies.
Ms Nosipho Nkwinti
Nosi has a B. Social Science (UFH) Honours in Psychology obtained from the University of Fort Hare. She manages and facilitates the formation, and development of mutually beneficial partnerships between students and staff at Rhodes University and community based organizations in Grahamstown and the Eastern Cape. She is responsible for community partner training and development programs with community based organizations who have signed MOU documents with RUCE. Nosi is also part of the Joza Youth Hub committee as the Chairperson of the board of directors. Nosi has a strong background in all aspects of community engagement.
Adv Fatima Essop
Fatimah Essop graduated with a BA.LLB.LLM from the University of Cape Town. She then practiced as an attorney in public interest litigation at the Legal Resources Centre and the Women's Legal Centre, followed by private legal consulting. She joined the Cape Bar in 2003 where she practiced in various areas including, administrative law, constitutional law, environmental law, medical negligence law, equality litigation, Muslim personal law litigation, delictual and general commercial litigation matters
Dr Musawenkosi Saurombe
Dr. Musawenkosi Donia Saurombe is a young academic. She became a Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Psychology at the North-West University, focusing on Talent Value Proposition for academic staff in higher education, in 2017, breaking an astounding academic record by becoming the youngest female Ph.D. graduate in Africa, at 23. She worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the North-West University Mafikeng from April 2017 and is now as a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, since April 2019.
Dr Grey Magaiza
Dr. Grey Magaiza is a scholar in the broad field of Social Development but more particularly Community Development. He possesses a PhD that contributed to knowledge in the field of social entrepreneurship and youth development in resource poor communities. Grey is currently the inaugural Head of Program for the Community Development Degree that is will graduate its first cohort of students in 2021. This is an exciting development as the UFS is the first university in the country to offer a four year degree in Community Development.
Ms Lillian Barnard
Lillian Barnard was appointed as the Managing Director of Microsoft South Africa in March 2019. She joined Microsoft in May 2017 as Public Sector Director for South Africa, a role she held for almost two years.
Lillian has more than 20 years’ experience in the ICT industry. She is a seasoned professional with proven capabilities and a strong understanding of local market. Through the various executive positions that Lillian has held, both locally and abroad, she has gained extensive knowledge in sales, operations, business controls, strategy, business transformation and leadership.
Ms Janine Hicks
Janine Hicks is a Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of Law. Janine also serves as Chairperson of the UKZN Gender Based Violence Committee, and as convenor for the Navi Pillay Research Group, a collective of academics from the School of Law seeking to address critical emergent issues of race, class, gender and disability in post-Apartheid South Africa through research, law and policy reform. Janine is Project Leader for the South African Law Reform Commission’s Project 143: Maternity and Paternity Benefits for Self-Employed Workers, and a former Commissioner with the South African Commission for Gender Equality.
Mrs Nalinee Rughoo-Debba
Mrs Nalinee Rughoo-Debba is a clinical psychologist and the director of Serene Health. She completed her BSc degree in Applied Psychology in 2003 at the University of Queensland in Australia, her honours in clinical psychology in 2007 and her Masters in Clinical Psychology both at the University of South Africa. She completed her training in clinical psychology at the University of South Africa. She did her internship at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria and her community service at Steve Biko Academic hospital.
Mr Dion Blignaut
Dion S. Blignaut is a capacity builder, working in internationally recognized leadership content, being a global youth initiative ambassador having impacted many lives, with an emphasis on teens and adolescents. Dion has credentials as a Certified Professional Coach, Teacher, Trainer, Transformational Speaker, and is the author of two books, including a collaboration of an ethics and morals textbook course for the educational sector. Dion aids your personal and professional growth through study and practical application of proven leadership methods
Mr Zareef Minty
Zareef Minty is a 25 year old, LLB graduate at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Zareef is a thought leader and innovator. Zareef became the youngest national youth president in South African history at the tender age of just 19. He ran in the 2014 national general elections where he was 5th on the party’s parliamentary candidates list. Zareef is a motivational speaker, where he speaks at schools around South Africa every fortnight. He also writes for the largest online newspapers agency in South Africa called News 24, he contributes articles based on politics, law, business and current events nationally and globally. He also writes for TeenZone which is a major teen magazine in South Africa, his articles and pieces are based on lighter topics like love, relationships and self-improvement.
Mr Gift Mncube
Gift Mncube nicknamed “The Honey Badger” graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with an LLB degree in 2016. Gift Mncube is an admitted attorney of the High Court of the South Africa with the right of appearance in terms of section 4(2) of Act 62 of 1995. His passion for Law led him to found ‘Mncube Attorneys’ in December 2016 and he has successfully led the firm in its continued transformation and growth for the past two years. Mr Mncube is a hardworking, dedicated and successful man who is always available to advice, educate and help. He is a true representation of the Golden Key values of Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, Respect, Diversity, Excellence and Engagement.
Waseem Sirkhot is a young entrepreneur and philanthropist, a former franchisee within the cellular industry and now the founder and owner of Iceburg stores in Gauteng. He is also the co-founder and current chairman of Project D1ST1NCT1ON, a matric rewards programme that runs between 15 schools across Gauteng, he has also won the roshgold young business achiever award in January 2020 for the business that has the most potential and the most scalable business.
Mr Waseem Ahmed Sirkhot
Dr. Eurika Thabile Mogane is a Medical Specialist who holds numerous Medical certifications (DMedSc, Sports Medicine, Neurosciences, and Medical Nutritional Therapy studied both Nationally and Internationally). She was born and bred in Nelspruit. She is passionate about the Medical industry and holds qualifications in various disciplines. Her motto in life is, “If the pen can convey the intended message, then do not let the ink run out!” In essence, she encourages others to never give up no matter what their circumstances suggest.
Dr Eurika Thabile Mogane
Ruvimbo Samanga is a Space Law & Policy Analyst, with particular specialisation in the traditional and NewSpace industry in Africa. She is also a Research Fellow at the Open Lunar Foundation, focusing her research on lunar settlement and development policy. She holds a Masters in International Trade & Investment Law. She currently represents Zimbabwe in the Space Generation Advisory Council and the Women in Aerospace Africa Chapter. She is also the founder of AgriSpace, an early stage Agri-tech startup developed in collaboration with the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, as a Ban Ki-moon Global Citizen scholar in residence
Miss Ruvimbo Samanga
Dr Anita Jonker is student support coordinator in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University. She is also the Coordinator of the Extended Degree Programme (EDP), the Department of Higher Education and Training’s restitution programme for students from historically and educationally disadvantaged communities. Before her current position at SU, she worked at the South African Parliament for many years and, accordingly, she is passionate about the module in Contemporary South African politics that she designed and teaches in the Introduction to the Humanities EDP course.
Dr Anita Jonker
Lovemore gives back to community by imparting his HR skills and knowledge. Currently he reaches out to people and edits their CV (as well as teaching them how to draft a professional CV) for free. Lovemore has created a YouTube channel in which he discusses any recruitment related issues such as interview skills, tips on achieving good interview performance and well as writing a compelling application for a job.
Lovemore is the founder of BRAV Pty Limited Company. He holds a position as HR Specialist (2019 to date). His company supports clients with Recruitment & selection; Transformation: BBBEE, EE & Skills Development; Employee Relations & IR Advisory
Mr Lovemore Shikwambana
Nazrana holds a Master’s and Honours Degree in Social Development and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. She has been working in the Higher Education sector and students for the past 15 year and more especially in the area of Careers Service at the University of the Western Cape since 2009. In 2019 she was the Joint Winner of the ‘Best Employer Representative Award’ and once again the Winner of the 'Best Employer Representative Award’ and once again the Winner of the 'Best Work Readiness Initiative’ at the South African Graduate Employers Association Employer Annual Awards.
Ms Nazrana Parker
Amanda Dambuza is the Chief Executive of Uyandiswa; a project management consulting firm she founded 7 years ago. She is also the founder and Director of Leadership Development Strategies, a company founded in 2016 with the purpose of mentoring, coaching, identifying talent and team development. She was until recently also the Financial Services Director of the JSE listed softwareorganisation, Adapt IT.
Prior to founding her own companies Amanda had spentmost of her over 13-year corporate career in Information Technology within the Financial Services industry. She held various senior roles at all four major banks in South Africa with her last role as a Chief Information Officer at Barclays Africa where she drove a Change budget close to R1bn for the functions of the bank.
Mrs Amanda Dambuza
The Charge
You have been inducted as a member of Golden Key International Honour Society. Your selection to Golden Key was based on that which you have accomplished. Membership in Golden Key is a privilege and an honour, which brings with it certain responsibilities.
Endeavour to maintain and promote high standards of academic achievement. Serve as leaders among your peers, as seekers of wisdom. The purpose of a university education is to enrich you as a person. More than the accumulation of facts, it is an integration of all your experiences in a determined learning process.
Be a person of good character, upholding high moral and ethical standards. Let honesty and fairness guide your every decision and excellence rule your every action. In this way, you and society will prosper.
Make a commitment to support the activities of Golden Key. Your leadership, organisational and communication skills will be refined and new friendships will be gained. Through you, our Chapter can contribute in a very tangible way to the well-being of this University.
The key holder is a leader, but the greatest leader is the greatest servant. As a member of Golden Key International Honour Society, you have chosen to live as a seeker of wisdom with a lifestyle of service. You have demonstrated your ability; now fulfill your potential.