Rockets . Ivy . Snow . International Leadership . Interdisciplinary Thinking . Harvard!
A young man recalls how he has traveled from his South African township to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Science has been his ticket so far, and he hopes it will be his destiny. Siyabulela Xuza attended secondary school in South Africa and will begin his second year at Harvard University in the final quarter of 2009. Xuza was a winner in the 58th Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
I was chasing the roar of a Cessna plane dropping election pamphlets over Mthatha, my South African township. It was 1994, the first year of a new democracy in my country, and the sight of that technological marvel ignited in me a curiosity for science and a passion for using technology to engineer an African renaissance. That’s what I’m working toward now as I study at Harvard University in the United States.
Soon after the day I saw that plane, I headed into Mom’s kitchen and began mixing chemicals to make a new rocket fuel. I felt nervous of my mischievous deeds behind Mom’s back, but the thrill of homemade chemistry was too much to resist. I loved my makeshift lab, equipped with mother’s utensils and smelling of a mixture of last night’s dinner and the sweet scents of my chemicals. It was paradise until one fateful day when I was absent-mindedly mixing up a new concoction. I forgot to turn down the stove setting, and the bubbly mixture changed to a hissing monster, spitting liquid all over the floor. What had been a spotless kitchen was suddenly covered in smoke and sticky rocket fuel. Mother charged into the room. I stuttered, my hands trembled, and I feared what was to come: the yelling of a lifetime. My eardrums still rang from the scolding when I continued with the experiments, though more cautiously in the garage. What started as mischief grew into a serious four-year science project that I juggled with demanding school work, rugby games, theater productions, and community service.
We Have Lift-Off
Not only was I working on the fuel, but I was also building a rocket. That part of the project also tested my patience and commitment until one day in 2003 I began a nail-biting countdown to the launch of the experiment I’d named Phoenix. When I pressed the ignition button, a cloud of smoke shot down and the engine came to life like the sound of a thousand African drums. The Phoenix ascended majestically, cracking the sky, until it reached an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,220 meters). The successful launch was a testament to the value of perseverance. I then entered the South African national science fair with a project entitled African Space: Fueling Africa’s Quest to Space. The project was so well received that I was awarded two international trips — to the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Sweden and to the United States for an international science fair.
The international science fair, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, brought together more than 1,500 of the most innovative students from 52 countries to showcase their research and undergo a rigorous competition. I felt honored to represent my country and was enriched by the exchanges I had with students from all over the world. So after the judging was over, I headed off to the awards ceremony and took my seat, and I glanced around an immense auditorium, humming with keen anticipation. The event intimidated me, and I shrank into my seat as the grand award prizes were announced. “And the winner in the Energy and Transportation Category is Siya ...” the announcer shouted, only to be interrupted by a deafening applause. I had won a grand award as well as the honor of having a minor planet named after me.
On a Different Planet
The euphoria of my success at the international fair was the momentum that propelled me through my senior year, culminating in my acceptance to Harvard University. In the fall of 2008, I strolled into the lush yards and ivy-draped walls of Harvard to begin my freshman year. I had to adjust to a different education system where the process of reaching an answer is more valuable than the actual answer, and where collaboration and engaging with professors leads to higher grades. I took intellectual risks by taking unfamiliar courses such as Mandarin, economics, and world music to broaden my mind and make me an interdisciplinary thinker.
Outside of the classroom, I joined the Harvard Forum for International Leadership. The society unites students from all around the world and facilitates panels on global terrorism, leadership, HIV/AIDS, technology, and African development. The forum also exposed me to the ever-increasing threat of climate change as demand for energy surges in both the developing and developed worlds. As great as this threat is, it is an opportunity to begin the clean-technology revolution.
Addressing climate change motivates my new passion: to use my experience working on new rocket fuels and my present resources at Harvard to develop next-generation automobile and jet fuels to mitigate the hazards of the climate crisis. I am now researching leading technologies in synthetic biology and renewable energy to foster sustainable African development and assist in igniting the intellectual potential of a continent that is yet to fulfill its promise. The transition from my African roots into American society has exposed me to the value of our diverse cultures. I have been involved in many a late-night dorm debate on issues ranging from social justice to the ethics of genetics, and I have gained perspective on other students’ points of views. Despite our differences, I learned that we all share the fundamental values of liberty and justice, values that can be achieved only through tolerance and a greater understanding of each other’s cultures.
More mundane moments, such as the joy of my first snowfall, also marked my adjustment to America. I froze in the harsh northeastern winters and longed for the African sun, but my soul thawed from the warmth of the American people, whose kindness nurtured my evolution into a citizen of the world. I will soon return to South Africa, enriched not only by a great education but also from the interactions with people from around the globe whose opinions have given me more insight on how the world works and thinks. I may not be able to predict what the future holds, but I am excited at how my engineering education will enable me to achieve my aspirations for Africa.
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