I had the immense privilege of singing in the choir in my Grade 11 year in 2013. Having sung in the Jakaranda Children’s Choir, I was already immersed in the choir experience and was excited to move onto the older choir.

What I didn’t know was the impact UPYC would leave on me. The friends I made then have stuck around and the memories of my times are still fresh in my mind.
More importantly, the lessons learnt from my fellow choristers and my incredible conductor, Lhente, have helped me through many of life’s challenges and obstacles.
The perseverance and dedication needed to be in a choir like UPYC developed into permanent traits that pushed me to achieve many goals I have set for myself.

I am now a Gr 10-12 English and Life Orientation teacher and absolutely loving it.
I get to impart all the wonderful lessons I learnt in the choir onto my students and use the knowledge and skills acquired in the choir in the daily workings of my job.

I will forever be grateful for the time I got to spend in UPYC and would go back to my UPYC days in a heartbeat.

I’ve known about UPYC pretty much since I stepped into the choir scene and adored the choir since, but I only built up the courage to audition in 2020, and by some miracle I got in and it’s been a crazy ride since.

UPYC has given me countless opportunities, including this one and I have made friends that I will keep for lifetime and I have learnt so many valuable life lessons.

I am now studying a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. My goal is to become a creative in the entertainment industry, with titles that include but are not limited to Director, Actor, Producer, Filmmaker and so much more.

UPYC’s chapter has not closed in my book as yet and I still hope to explore music in this new era of my life and in my career as an entertainer.

I joined UPYC in late 2018 going into 2019. I didn’t have the confidence in myself to grab opportunities when I saw them, but throughout my journey in UPYC, I got so many opportunities to do things I never imagined myself doing.

UPYC has moulded me into the person I am today, strong, confident, knowing how to identify and take an opportunity when I see one. Even as an alumni, UPYC still continues to present opportunities and this bursary from Seesa is one of them.

I am Currently studying Bachelor of Arts, with music as my major at UNISA. I decided to go the music route because it has always been the dream ever since I was little girl. The dream is to one day own my own production company, to be known as a all rounder profound musician, musical director, legend and a great teacher of music.

UPYC didn’t just let me leave empty handed ,but they helped me take my first step into the rest of my life.

When I first found out about UPYC, I was inspired to join because it felt so different yet unique to what I was usually exposed to in school. When I finally built up the courage to audition, I could tell that Lhente, Hermz and everyone in choir was a bit skeptical as to how I would commit to a choir so far from where I live. But the passion I had for creating music with this extraordinary choir pushed me to continuously show up each and every practice and concert, regardless of the distance.

My plans now are to start my MBBCh degree, through the help of the bursary that was generously awarded by SEESA, at Wits University to qualify and become a doctor. This will enable me to give back to the community in a slightly different, but similar way to how UPYC has given back to myself and various other people throughout the years.

I hope to still have the time and opportunity to explore and expend my musicality through other available channels in my new chapter. Be that with UPYC itself or other choirs that will become available to me this year.

It’s amazing what music can unleash in an individual. UPYC has allowed me to diversify to others and I’ve learnt to find meaning in words through music.

I’ve been in UPYC since 2020 and it’s been a great platform that has given me the opportunity to expand musically, physically and mentally.

I’m on course to do my BSC. in Computer Science at the University of Pretoria and my goal is to be a part of the recreation in this new technological world and potentially help this country catch up to the modern world.

Music is intangible and I wish to explore it as a passion through UPYC.

I mastered the courage to join UPYC at the end of 2021 after hearing the stories and how great UPYC is from my boys and what I was missing out on. I have made friends that I will forever cherish and keep around because of UPYC. They have made my UPYC journey a lot more memorable and enjoyable.

UPYC and Lhente have added tremendous value to my life as a chorister and as an individual. They continue to be a valuable contribution to my life and the SEESA bursary is one of them. This bursary has set my goals into motion. UPYC continues to be a blessing in my life and I will forever be grateful.

I am currently enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand where I will be studying a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting. My goal is to become a chartered accountant and to start my own accounting firm.
The chapter on UPYC in my life has not ended and is still being written, there are many more pages to be filled.