Mongiwa’s life journey has unfolded like the storyline of a child genius prodigy film. Her rare talent was discovered by chance in the fourth grade, and since then, she has excelled in her studies, ultimately entering university at the age of 15, several years ahead of her peers!
Pretoria, South Africa (30 May 2025) – At the age of 18, many youngsters are still consumed by keeping up with the latest trends, high school studies and trying to make sense of what they want to do with their lives.
While figuring out what to do after school is a big question many teens have around that age, Mongiwa Hazel Ntuli has already impressively secured her bachelor’s degree. And it’s not just any degree , it’s one in actuarial science!
Yes, this teen’s story is one that is not just remarkable but very well epitomises what it means to break boundaries.
The University of Pretoria (UP) graduate began her studies in 2022, having accelerated through primary and high school after her academic talents became clear at an early age.
“When I was in Grade 3, I mistakenly wrote a Grade 4 mathematics paper and scored the highest of all the actual Grade 4 students,” Mongiwa tells UP.
This caught her teacher’s attention, who organised for Mongiwa to write more Grade 4 papers – all of which she passed exceptionally well.
From then, Mongiwa advanced through classes and grades, enrolling into university at the age of 15. Her choice of actuarial science was rooted in her wanting to challenge herself, and UP provided the doorway to achieving that and more.
Although her academic journey has been unfathomably impressive, Mongiwa admits that being significantly younger than her classmates brought about a few challenges.
“Many students treated me like the little sister they never had,” she says.
“There were a lot of expectations of me, and it got difficult to meet those expectations.”
However, thanks to a strong support system – mentors, friends, lecturers and especially her house mother, Zamile, who constantly encouraged her to step out of her shell, a resilient Mongiwa achieved what she had set out to do.
“Graduating means that I am strong enough and I can do more than I thought I could. For my family, it means that we can achieve dreams that we never thought could be achieved before. It also means that I can be a beacon of hope for people back home,” says a driven Mongiwa who hopes to pursue her Master’s degree.
Her advice to young women who want to pursue a degree in STEM is to “just do it”.
“If an opportunity is presented to you, just do it. Take it with both hands and go reach for the stars.”
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