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- August 2026
Five students. One Exxaro bursary. Multiple opportunities.
Five students share how they are turning potential into possibility through an Exxaro bursary.
Every bursary tells a different story. Some students are inspired by family, others by a desire to serve their communities, while some discover a passion they never expected. What they all share is the determination to build a better future. Meet six Exxaro bursary recipients who are making the most of every opportunity as they build their futures.
Why this matters: Today's students are tomorrow's problem-solvers. Investing in their education helps build the skills, innovation and leadership our industry will rely on in the years ahead.[S
Inspired from an early age
Growing up, Tendani Rashaya often accompanied her father, an electrical engineer, while he worked. Those experiences sparked a passion that eventually led her to study Electrical Engineering. Today, she’s in her third year and hopes to use her skills to help address South Africa’s energy challenges. The transition to university wasn’t easy. Like many students, she had to adjust to living away from home while balancing an increasingly demanding workload. Receiving an Exxaro bursary eased the financial pressure on her family and gave her something just as valuable: the confidence that someone believed in her potential. Looking ahead, Tendani hopes to build a career designing and monitoring electrical systems and help solve South Africa’s energy challenges.
Building communities through engineering
For Lathitha Gobane, Civil Engineering has always been about people. Her dream is to help build houses, improve infrastructure and create opportunities that uplift communities.
After struggling to secure funding during her first year at university, receiving an Exxaro bursary changed everything. Instead of worrying about tuition fees, she could focus on her studies and the future she wants to create. Her advice to other young people is simple: keep working hard, keep applying and never stop believing that the right opportunity will come. She hopes to qualify as a professional engineer, gain international experience and bring those skills home to make a lasting difference.
Finding the right path
Geology wasn’t part of Kgodiso Tjale’s original plan. After applying for other fields of study, he was accepted into Geology and quickly discovered a career that suited him perfectly.
Now completing his Honours degree, Kgodiso says the Exxaro bursary has opened doors beyond financial support. From learning to manage his finances to visiting mining operations and experiencing the industry’s culture first-hand, the bursary has helped prepare him for the next step in his journey. His goal is to join Exxaro’s Professional-in-Training programme and build a career while supporting his family. His advice is simple: trust the journey. Sometimes the best opportunities are the ones you never expected.
Finding opportunity through perseverance
Justin Watson is in his final year of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pretoria. Drawn to the versatility of the discipline, he was excited by the opportunities it could open across industries, from automotive and aerospace to manufacturing and mining. After applying unsuccessfully for several bursaries, he almost gave up hope until he spotted the Exxaro bursary in an email from his university. Today, he credits that opportunity with changing the course of his studies and giving him the chance to pursue his ambitions with confidence. Looking ahead, he hopes to use his engineering skills to make a meaningful contribution to the industry that gave him his first opportunity.
Finding better ways forward
Marianne Semmelink is in her third year of Industrial Engineering, a field she chose for its versatility and its potential to improve the way people work and live. What excites her most is the human side of problem-solving: listening to people, understanding their challenges and finding smarter, more efficient ways of doing things.
When Marianne discovered Exxaro’s bursary programme through her university, she was surprised to see Industrial Engineering included, and even more excited when her application was successful. The bursary has brought financial peace of mind, new connections and greater confidence in her future. With an interest in renewable energy, Marianne hopes to use her skills to develop practical solutions that make people’s lives easier and contribute South Africa’s energy future.
From classroom to coalface
The bursary also creates opportunities to experience where those studies could lead. In July, Exxaro bursars visited Belfast Mine, touring the mining pits, processing plant and engineering workshop while seeing first-hand how classroom learning comes to life in a working operation. The visit also gave students the chance to meet Exxaro leaders and employees, ask questions and explore possible career paths across the business.