Martin van Zyl

I am currently a second year Bsc student in the field of Sport Science. I have made the decision to stand for the position of HC and head mentor in the house of Pieke. For the past year I have served as a mentor for the house and was elected for the second Table Tennis team.

Pieke has changed my life the past year and a half. After school all my friends went to different residences, except me. I walked in the first day and did not know a single person. Until I met WS Horn. Probably the nicest person I have ever met. After welcoming in my first year (2019) I was not partaking in any Pieke activities, until WS sent me a personal message asking to stand as a mentor because he thought I would be a good fit. The moment I was elected as a mentor changed my life in an instant. The friends and memories that are made have been engraved into the path that will lead me to the future. I would not exchange a single moment I had with Pieke since that day. I wish I started to participate and contribute to the house earlier in my time.

I have made the decision to stand for HC because I want to make up for the time I have missed out on. I believe the journey has only begone and there is higher mountains that are reachable within Pieke. The house has made me a better person and I would like to give back as much as possible.

Portfolios I had in mind is sports, tours and social media. I would also like to be part with the mentor program as head mentor.

I have a passion for sports and that is the reason I am studying sport science. I would like to increase the sport participation within Pieke. It has come to my attention that many students play sports at high school but stop when they come to university. I understand it is time consuming, therefore I would like to start something that does not take a lot of time in a tightly scheduled week. Exercise such as a Pieke Hike could be a nice attraction for students within the house.

In high school I played a little bit of Ultimate Frisbee and it has become a sport within the university. I had a plan together with WS to incorporate this within Pieke before Covid-19 became a big deal.

I like to manage and plan my work, food, and trips ahead of time. I would love to be in charge or even help to plan tours. I am an adventurous person and love the idea of being on a trip with friends or to make friends. Sadly, I had to skip Jool tour last year (2019) due to personal reasons. I would love to add the idea of mini trips over weekends to be available where we go to attraction in Cape Town such as going up table mountain, going for a day driving around the Cape Coast or even inviting small groups within the house for a wine tasting on Friday afternoon after a hard week. I do believe that we will be back at university by next year were this could be incorporated.

Social media has become a big part of the modern day society and a platform for learning over the past couple of months due to the uncertain circumstances we as a community have to face. As a house I think we should have more challenges and “competitions” on a virtual platform such as Instagram, especially in the times we are facing now and not being together. This could be an alternative for first years to feel as if they really are a part of a family.

My time as a mentor has been an amazing and uplifting experience. It has changed my life in such a way that I am positively affected. It has enriched me as person. One of my biggest life goals is to strive and become the best version of myself, the mentor program allowed me to become a better me. I especially enjoyed the interaction with the newcomers by helping and guiding them to where they need to be. I would love to have the opportunity to be apart of this again. Therefore I am opening myself to the position of Head Mentor.

I think I would be able to bring a lot of positive qualities to a HK team. As a human being I tend to be very calm, especially when I am under pressure. I overlook the situation, to understand the bigger picture and what the problem is before deciding what to do. In the past I have learned that I handle conflict well. I believe that communication and responsibility is the key, especially in a HK team where you need to help each other out. If you made a mistake, accept the flaw and rectify your action. I see myself as a loving person and I try to help others where I can. I am easy going and easy forgiving to the people around me. This is how I would lead if I were elected as a HK member for 2020/2021.