By Phetho Prince Singo
FOMO? Hardly felt that. I was both elated and anxious when I registered for my honours. In January, I was eager to leave home, explore my new residence, and meet a couple of friends. When we were told that the degree would start later in February, it felt quite weird, considering that previous classmates in Medicine were already talking about writing exams for their blocks in late January whilst I was still sorting out issues with my accommodation.
Out of over 60 applicants, 10 medical students got accepted into the Intercalated track in 2025. Each of the 10 students then applied for and got accepted for their honours. Of the 10, I was the only one to apply for Human Genetics as my first choice and, additionally, the only Intercalated student doing the degree. This created an opportunity for a totally individual and uninterrupted experience of what honours would be like through my own eyes only.
Additionally, I aimed to approach the opportunity with confidence but, most importantly, with as much of a sober mind as I could try to maintain. The aim was not to be intimidated, but also to be inviting and of a teachable spirit. This led me to be able to gel relatively well with my new colleagues. Everyone was mostly different yet quite like each other. Our ambitions were as varied as we were, yet our desire to grow, pass and do so with excellence was even more common.
As we built our statuses as acquaintances, pieces of everyone’s character were revealed even more. One piece of note was that of honour revealed as we got to rank our projects, and everyone left the one project they knew I would desire out of their first selection even though my then-to-be supervisor gave an endearing presentation. It made me respect them even more, and it is an action for which I am grateful.
That considered, I must say, research is quite an interesting space. Medicine rarely had moments wherein your work did not heavily influence how you structured your time. However, research allowed me to more freely dictate when to do my work with a lot more room for correction. I got to go back to playing football for one of the residence clubs, I got to start a business, serve in SHAWCO as a subcommittee, be a biochemistry tutor and much more.
Overall, this was a great year. It was not without its challenges, but each moment was turned into a teachable one. I got to overcome quite a few personal struggles, indulge in the deeper science and grow my interest in cardiovascular genetics even more. For all this; the bright and dark days, I thank God.
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