Around the pOnD
tawanda mulalu ’16 Honored in the Queen’s Commonwealth essay Competition TawaNDa MuLaLu ’16 TraVELED
to Buckingham Palace in October to be honored for his prize-winning entry in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, held annually by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS). Tawanda received his award from the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles. Tawanda is a native of Botswana, one of 53 Commonwealth of Nations (formerly the British Commonwealth) member states. Now a PG at Taft, Tawanda was previously a student at the Maru-a-Pula School in Gaborone, Botswana, where Andy Taylor ’72 is currently the principal. The RCS is a nonprofit organization devoted to youth empowerment, education, support, and advocacy throughout each of the Commonwealth’s member states. It has organized the international schools’ writing contest since 1883, making it the oldest and largest studentwriting contest in the world. The event is currently held in partnership with sponsor Cambridge University Press. In 2015, the highly regarded essay competition attracted a record number of submissions: the Royal Commonwealth Society received more than 13,000 entries from over 600 schools in 49 Commonwealth countries and territories. A winner and a runner-up are named in both the Junior and Senior classes; Tawanda was named Senior runner-up for his essay detailing his hopes and dreams for the future. (Read the full essay online in Taft News.) “When I entered the essay competition I had little to no expectations of making it anywhere near to a runner-up. I entered last year and barely managed a Silver Award,” recalls Tawanda. “I actually completely forgot about the contest 18
Taft Bulletin / Winter 2016
until the last two hours and pieced together some old writing I’d been using for school and college application stuff.” In announcing Tawanda’s honor, RCS judges wrote, “Tawanda’s entry is a mature and informed essay which shows a great awareness of the relationship between the physical and life sciences and the future of Africa. Its humble voice is balanced with a marked confidence, and has great ambitions.…Tawanda describes himself as having ‘Small chest. Big dreams.’ In his essay he dreams big about the scientific future for Africa and his part in that. His thoughtful analysis of the power of those dreams and his arresting descriptions make this a prize-winning entry.” Beyond thoughtful analysis and arresting descriptions, the essay is both deeply personal and served as an important reminder about the value of each day.
“I have to extend my gratitude towards whatever higher consciousness gifted me with the opportunity of going to London,” says Tawanda. “Even if it is an odd collection of vignettes, I still think there was some sort of purpose in gathering them. At the end of the day I just wanted to remind myself that my life is a story that I want to be the author of. And that’s what the whole journey was and still is about.” Tawanda is not only grateful for the recognition and the opportunity to travel to London (where he reunited with his mother for the first time since coming to Taft), but for the perspective the win brings. “I just feel really happy to have something like this happen to me,” says Tawanda. “Not just as a confidence booster, but also as a reminder of how ludicrously large the world is, and how filled it is with adventure.” j