By Tinashe Bonde
They say hard work pays. As we are still in the realm of Zimbabwe National School Results, one young man has made history with his performance in O’ Level. Tinashe Bonde managed to have an interview with Lesley Machimbidza concerning his success as given below:
1) Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Lesley Machimbidza is a 17-year-old boy who resides in Harare. I recently completed my GCE in Ordinary Level at Nyanga High School Marist Brothers. I’m a young individual passionate about the development of the African continent.
2) How does it feel being the current National record holder?
It honestly feels fantastic, I always dreamt of living these days and one can always be proud that their dream has finally come true so I am happy and truly honored.
3) To some they probably have a lot of questions for you, but one of them is; why 20 subjects?
Twenty subjects were a way to stretch my intellectual capacity. It was a way to gauge how far I’d go in terms of dealing with academic pressure. I also am curious about the world in all its aspects and 20 subjects would help me navigate these. I didn’t just want to be a specialist in one field, I want to address all problems ranging from social, political, and economic and thus I had to pursue such many subjects.
4) I would like to believe 20 subjects are not a joke and are not for the faint-hearted. How did you manage to pull through and balance all?
Honestly, I cannot say I managed to balance. I always gave priority to the most challenging subjects which were sciences. But in general, I’d give my attention to all my subjects. One thing I believed helped me was that I studied hard during the time when exams hadn’t started such that during the exam time, I was only revising and just doing examination techniques.
5) You coming in from a school that is on record for producing high fliers and record breakers like the previous record holders were from the same school. Has this in some way influenced your decision and achievements?
It has indeed. When I started form 1 in 2018, I never thought of getting to this point. I was aiming at something like 12 A’s and then life goes on but later on, I realized that Marist Nyanga could enable me to achieve more when I witnessed other students getting as much as 19 A’s.
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6) What was your typical day like?
I would start my classes at 0715hrs and they’d stretch up to 1615hrs. The keynote is that only 12 subjects were offered in the school timetable. From 1615 to 1800hrs I’d give myself time to rest and also to attend meals in the DH. I would start studying from 1830 to 2030 in the normal school study which was compulsory for everyone before extending from 2100hrs to 0100hrs or 0200hrs. I’d sleep for two to three hours before waking up again to start another new day.
7) What are your killer study strategies or tips you can share with our readers?
Just focus on everything, don’t undermine other topics or concepts. Revise, revise, revise. Give yourself adequate time to rest. If you feel like your body and mind aren’t allowing you to continue, go get some sleep it’s necessary. There were days when I would study only for an hour because I won’t be well. My point is don’t strain yourself. If you’re not in the mood, don’t force yourself to study. It’s good to even take some time out, watch TV or read novels. It helps refresh your mind and gets you pumped up to study even more.
8) How best would you describe yourself: Genius or Hard worker?
I would say I am both. I believe there are a lot of geniuses out there but not all of them achieve high feats because others don’t work hard. I am a genius who worked hard and excelled. So, I am both.
9) What does academic success mean to you?
It’s something I appreciate because it gives me a reflection on who I am academically and who I can be in the future. It makes me feel happy to know that I am capable of something.
10) I understand besides school stuff you have also held various leadership positions. Tell us about your leadership journey. How has it contributed to your academic success or how has the academic success contributed to your leadership ingenuity?
I have had a great journey. To cut the long story short, I was the 2nd Vice House Captain for Kizito House at Marist Nyanga in 2021. I also had various leadership roles in clubs like LEO where I was 2nd VP, Debate where I was VP, and Writer’s Club where I was the President just to mention a few. These roles have helped me to coordinate with others and to be an inspiration to others who rally behind me. My success in academics helped me to touch more souls and inspire them to do better, something which I believe leadership is all about.
11) You are also a well-decorated Manicaland Province Public Speaker. Tell us more about your public speaking journey?
I started this journey in 2018, it was quite hard but I stood my position through consistent practice. At the moment I am the Junior Provincial Best Speaker, a title I got in the books in March 2020 after winning the NASH Junior Debate Championship.
12) You also play part in volunteerism and other community activities. Tell us more about them.
I am currently working with The Conscientization Movement as their Interim President and the Managing Director for the Youth Development Sector. The movement aims at making the world a better place and achieving sustainability for everyone, especially the youths and women. I am also the Projects Director for Globe Startup Connect, a startup found in November 2020 that seeks to link business advisors, idealists, investors, job seekers, and freelancers to have a sound economic system. During my ‘O’ Level Break, I took it upon myself to provide free tutoring to examination candidates from my neighborhood.
13) Now let’s talk more about your company and initiatives. What are you up to?
I co-founded Rise Africa, a startup whose main objective is to help Africans embrace the Africa they have to work towards improving the state of affairs for the better. This we aim to achieve by informing Africans about the various cultural elements and our education as a continent. We believe in the power of education and feel like it is a powerful tool to transform our world. At the moment, Rise Africa is looking for a sponsor who can help us to launch a website. Rise Africa is run by a group of young and few individuals whose financial outlay may not be able to cater to website creations thus it will be great if we get a helping hand in as much as this is concerned.
14) You hold a strong passion for Africa, what does it mean to be an African according to your perception? What’s your role or what you believe to be your role in Africa’s success?
For me being African means that I have a role to play for the betterment of the continent something which I always work towards achieving. My role is to create jobs for Africans and I dream of doing this in the long run.
15) Now you going for A-Level, how many subjects and combinations are you going for? Are you up for the next record?
I intend to pursue sciences. As for the record, I don’t know but with these things you can never be sure, anything can happen. I would take 12 or 14. Doing 20 subjects was hard and I wouldn’t want to go through that again
16) What role do you think Career Guidance plays in students’ academic journeys or at what stage do you think it should be introduced?
Career guidance mold students to know what they want. For me, I believe career guidance should even start at Grade 1 so that the child grows to know what they want to pursue. As for me, I didn’t do 20 subjects because I lacked guidance. I know what I want and would like to make it clear to the readers that I am not confused like what some individuals have been saying on social media. I have been silent but I’ve been seeing the comments but all I can say is I am not confused, I received guidance and I am not confused.
17) Any word of advice to someone out there who is aiming to meet or break your record.
You can do it. That’s all I can say
18) Who are your role models?
My parents have always been my role models.
19) Any people who you would like to thank for making your achievements attainable.
My parents for being there for me and encouraging me to go for my dream. My teachers for providing immense support. My best buddy, Tinashe Chigasa who also excelled in the exams, and God for making all this possible. As well as everyone else whom I might not have mentioned, you’re all truly appreciated.
20) It was a pleasure having you, Lesley. Any shout-outs?
Shout out to everyone who believes in me, you all are truly appreciated. Shout out to Motimagz for having me and writing about me! Shout out to Zimbabwe, shout out to Africa!!!
