Be inspired by Mikyle Fourie

By Sazini Mojapelo Absa Group Head: Citizenship & Community Investments

The immediate impression you get from talking to Mikyle Fourie is that he’s friendly, chatty, confident and very open.

He’s the sociable type who can bloom through the interaction and stimulation that being at university provides. So, he’s naturally a little disappointed that his Bachelor of Engineering Sciences in Digital Arts course has initially been conducted online because of Covid-19.

Mikyle has only been to the University of the Witwatersrand three or four times to collect books and to meet his fellow students. “My class is putting a lot of effort into building a good social environment because that’s very important in the first year of university, although it’s very difficult to build bonds online,” he says. It’s made easier by the fact that his degree is quite a niche choice and attracts a small group of students who share a similar outlook. “We are each other’s type of people,” he says.

Having a white father and an Indian mother has also influenced how easily he interacts with others and how he views the world. The input of two different cultures gave him a very positive start in life and he feels he’s a true reflection of the new generation of South Africans. “I can’t be racist because I was born bi-racial, so it’s very difficult for me to see how you can look at another race and think less of them,” he says. “It’s made me more open-minded and amenable to different opinions.”

Mikyle says winning a place on the Absa Fellowship Programme was crucial for covering the cost of university, but he’s also excited by the leadership coaching it offers, which includes being assigned a mentor. The fact that good leaders support those they lead resonates with him, and the ability to help people to recognise their own value and potential is something he hopes to achieve throughout his life, whether it’s in friendships, relationships or at work.

He didn’t expect the leadership elements of the Fellowship to be as tightly integrated into his daily studies as they are, but he’s grateful for it. “Personal mastery to teach you how to be the best version of yourself is something that resonates with me. I’m very much of the view that step one in life is to figure yourself out, because then you can distribute your energy helping others and doing all the things you need to do.”

The lessons in positive self-talk, self-actualisation and time management proved essential when Mikyle hit a slump because of lockdown isolation and the online learning structure. “The most difficult part about online learning is that the onus to be disciplined and motivated is on you, whereas before you had teachers pushing you forward. Last term I was very burned out and behind with my work, and it was the first time I’ve been so stressed that it translated into me being demoralised. I didn’t want to work any more, and I’m very grateful to the fellowship for reminding me that motivation is important and reminding me of the skills and tools that can push you into the right direction to get you out of that situation.”

The way the Fellowship is structured keeps those positive messages coming consistently, to help the students stay focused, manage their workload better and improve their work/life balance to lift themselves above any setbacks, he explains.

The degree itself is heavily focused on electrical engineering, maths and physics, then crosses into the arts with game design. At the end of the third year the students can decide if they want to specialise in electrical engineering or game design, and he found that an enticing proposition. “University is expensive, so having the fees covered is an important part. I’m also very grateful to the Absa Fellowship coaching for making sure I’m focused on solidifying a better work structure, sleep cycle and time management in pursuit of a better work life balance.”

Leaving school at a time when the world was in a state of uncertainty made it very difficult to decide what to do and where to aim. “Keeping my options open feels like a safety net,” he says. “I have a natural skill towards physics and maths, but I also have a creative side, so game design is my way to keep that part of myself alive and stimulated.”

Mikyle had already explored a couple of potential career options by job-shadowing when he was still at high school. Shadowing an IT worker led to the conclusion that he’d hate to be stuck in a cubicle all day. Shadowing a stock adviser felt more stimulating, but he realised that what he enjoyed most about it was interacting with other people.

“The part that killed my soul is where I had to sit at the desk and do monotonous work, so I think I’ll always need to be interacting with people,” he says. “I don’t believe you should be a slave to a boring job that makes a lot of money but leaves you unfulfilled as a person. I think that helping people pursue a common goal and getting to that goal will make good use of my skill set.”