Outstanding Golden Key members in SA

Some say youth is wasted on the young.  Thando Pato begs to differ.  She spoke to committed campus leaders blessed with the vision, verve and vitality to make a real difference in others' lives.  This is the face of South Africa's future.
 
Catherine Johnston, South African Student Leader 2004

At the third annual Golden Key regional conference held in Port Elizabeth in September 2004, Catherine Johnston, the then president of the Rand Afrikaans University chapter of Golden Key was awarded the prestigious South African Student Leader Award for 2004 in recognition of her outstanding leadership qualities and dedication not only to Golden Key, but to the spirit of leadership in all of its forms.In this article, Catherine reflects on what it has meant to her to be a leader in Golden Key...

Frankly, I don't think that there is any significant factor that makes me an outstanding candidate for this award. My involvement with Golden Key has been characterised by a sense of "so much need and so little time...", coaxing and following up on reluctant committee members, balancing busy schedules, working through bureaucracy, frustration when good ideas are not implemented, academic deadlines, late nights, receiving numerous telephone calls and emails, crisis-management when people let one down at the last minute, my disappointment in myself for not achieving all of the goals I wanted to... and all of this juxtaposed next to a hugely needy society where there is much poverty and tremendous gaps in education.