For half of his education career, Durban University of Technology student Blake Clintwood’s academic results were just below average, that was until high school, where he was taught the importance of self-discipline and having priorities in life.
The former Maritzburg College scholar started adopting his former school’s core values (“Honesty, Integrity, Courage, Self-discipline, Commitment and Respect”), at the age of 15 and that was when his school results started improving.
“I was 15 years old when I realised that my dream was to be an engineer. I also realised that not everything in life would be handed to me, somethings I really have to work hard for. That was when my belief in Maritzburg College’s core values began and it’s something that I still follow today,” said Clintwood.
When Clintwood realised his parents could not afford to pay for his studies, he knew that the only way to afford an education would be to excel academically. “When I started putting a bigger effort into my studies and sacrificed many evenings and weekends, I really started enjoying my studies,” he said.
Clintwood’s change of attitude towards his education helped him a lot, to the point that his teachers also started advising him accordingly in his career path and ambitions. “From high school, my teachers were very supportive and when I reached DUT, my lecturers were just as incredible. Each one of them dedicated so much time and effort to get me to where I am today and that would have never happened if my attitude did not change,” said Clintwood.
Clintwood who is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering and hopes to be a Structural Technologist one day. He is also working in construction because he feels that he needs to learn as much as he can in order for him to improve his designs and principles.
Clintwood will graduate at DUT on Tuesday, 13h00 at the Indumiso Hall, in Imbali, during the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment’s graduation ceremony.
Pictured: Blake Clintwood.
Noxolo Memela
