Lights, action … & proud to be a NMMU ambassador

Guest blogger Khanyisa Melwa

Those who have known me since my teenage years will remember my longing to become an actor (I did drama from the age of 12). However, owing to many reasons, one of which was financial constraints, I was not able to pursue this career.

But alas, this was no hindrance for me; I enrolled at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University to study towards a BA degree, which I then changed at the end of my first year to pursue a Diploma in Public Relations Management. I am currently in my third year of Public Relations, completing my in-service training and I couldn’t be happier.

“Happy” would be an understatement to describe how I felt when I received an e-mail informing me that I had been selected as one of 20 NMMU ambassadors “actors” for a Vision2020 promotional video. Elated I was, I thought “yes, my dreams of becoming an actor are finally coming true!”

Fast-forward a few weeks later … there I was being pampered with manicures and flying in private jets. I was living the life, I tell you! All lies of course, but I did have a good time on set.

It began with a session of being “prettied up” (this is code for applying make-up). Something I haven’t done since my theatre days, and naturally, nostalgia took over. I was also charged with the challenge of being as natural as possible and not sounding so rehearsed, like the drama king that I am.

After the make-up session, it was show-time!

Yours truly doing his thing

I walked onto the set and boy, was this not theatre?! The only piece of equipment I recognised was the lapel mike they strapped to my clothes. Everything else was foreign to me. I was then shown where to stand, and again, nature took its course and I was now overcome with anxiety and nerves. A feeling every thespian, or rather actor/performer feels before a performance. There I was lights, camera, teleprompter and action!

“Uniquely, our university carries the name of one of the world’s most iconic leaders, Nelson Mandela, whose ideals have inspired NMMU’s values, curriculum and mission.” That was my line.

After about three takes of saying this piece of prose, a few slip-ups here and there and it finally hit me.

After all the theatrics, it was then that I began to heed the significance of being a part of a new generation university that looks to produce students who are well-rounded and capable of success anywhere in the world.

The promotional video is part of our bid to celebrate 10 years as a university but also to forward to achieving Vision2020. One of the objectives of our strategic plan to be a great university is that of “improving business processes, systems and infrastructure to promote a vibrant staff and student life”.

We need only look at the newly erected Business School on Second Avenue Campus, the Engineering Building on North Campus and the Human Movement Science building on South Campus, to name a few, to find evidence of this.

After another reading of prose, my fifteen minutes of fame was officially over. I was now not only an NMMU student and staff member, but an NMMU ambassador too. A title I so proudly carry.

NMMU Media Honours student Jonathan Fryer on set for the new Vision2020 video

NMMU lecturer Kathija Adam