Dr Thabang Legodi

University of Limpopo

Nominee's Province:
Eastern Cape

Age:
25

Project Name/Description:
MBChB class rep

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/robertothabang

Dr Thabang Legodi, 25, from the village of Ga-Mashashane Ga-Mapangula in Limpopo province, has the kind of discipline many youths could use to help mould them into successful beings later in life. Having lost his parents as a child, and many times going to bed without food, this humble background recently saw him stand out as a trailblazer in the world of academia. He was among the first group of medical students at University of Limpopo (UL) to attain an MBChB qualification and he was the first class rep and the deputy chairperson of the UL Association of Medical Students from 2016 to 2018. “I was also awarded a certificate for my outstanding work as a student by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mahlo Makgalong, for being diligent in student leadership, which was cultivated in my high school years where I learned how to be a leader as President of the Learners Representative Council,” Legodi says proudly. In high school he was in a class by himself as the top learner, therefore these accolades should not come as a surprise. This devout Christian says he always wanted to be a doctor but had no insight of what it really means except thinking that doctors are people with money, they heal people and make an impact in the world. “So, in 2014 when I got to high school, my principal Mr T E Rammutla called me to his office and asked me what I wanted to be when I finished high school, and I told him I didn’t know,” he says. His principal proposed that he study medicine. Although Legodi had always wanted to be a doctor, this proposition by someone he looked up to fueled his childhood dream. The rest is history.