While most other Maties students were off on their summer holidays, two hardworking BSc undergrads decided to stick around campus to do holiday work with Iimbovane Outreach Project.

Samantha Witbooi is studying BSc Molecular Biology and  Biotechnology  and Belvia Nkosi is studying BSc Human Life Sciences. Both are going into this year into their third year of studies. For two weeks they joined the Iimbovane team to gain experience in the workplace.  Here they assisted in the sorting of invertebrate samples, especially ant species, using a stereomicroscope. What made this work experience special was that Samantha has a history with Iimbovane. She was first introduced to the project in 2010 when the Iimbovane project team visited her Grade 10 Life Sciences class at Atlantis Secondary School. Samantha went on to join one of Iimbovane’s holiday programs later that year. Here she was given the opportunity to visit Stellenbosch University, use microscopes in a working laboratory setting and experienced applying the scientific method to research. This gave Samantha exciting new possibilities and led her onto the path she is on today. This is the second year that Samantha has come back to work with Iimbovane.

Samantha Witbooi on Iimbovane’s influence:

“The whole experience in the field of science which I was exposed to during the Iimbovane Winter Week in 2010 excited me, and I knew from there that science is what I should do. I am glad that I am doing science and cannot imagine myself doing anything else.”