Long before Gomolemo Nkgoedi became a medical student, he was a patient. Growing up in a township outside Bloemfontein, he spent much of his early childhood in hospital following a serious accident. Some of his earliest memories are not of playgrounds or classrooms, but of children’s wards, doctors and nurses.

Yet his most vivid memory is not the medical treatment. It’s the kindness. “I remember the doctor who taught me how to make my first paper aeroplane,” he recalls. “The occupational therapists taught me how to read. The doctors, the nurses, the staff were my friends.”

For the inquisitive young boy, those healthcare workers became role models. The way they went above and beyond their duties to truly care for a vulnerable child left a lasting impression on Nkgoedi. His childhood dream to become a doctor was not only to become a healer, but to emulate the same profoundly positive impact the hospital staff had on his life. 

Today, Nkgoedi is a third-year medical student at SU’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Known affectionately as “Gomo, the mover and shaker”, he is already a force for good on the Tygerberg campus where he’s driving impactful initiatives rooted in care and support.

An ambitious child and self-described dreamer, Nkgoedi believed university was part of his future. When application season arrived, he sold sweets at school to help pay his university application fees. “I’ve always been inventive with coming up with solutions,” he says with a smile.

More than a food parcel

That same determination to find solutions would eventually shape one of his most important leadership roles. Nkgoedi serves as chairperson of the Tygerberg Pantry Project, an initiative that provides students with access to food, toiletries and essential sanitary products through an anonymous request system. The project was established to ensure that no student’s academic success is compromised by food insecurity or a lack of basic necessities. 

When he first became involved, he helped pack and distribute donations. One particular experience left a lasting impression.

A student had submitted a request for several essential items. Nkgoedi began assembling the parcel, only to discover that the pantry had almost nothing left to give. “The only thing we had in stock was a packet of instant brown onion soup,” he recalls.

The experience was deeply frustrating. “I felt despondent and thought: What can I do to really help?” Rather than waiting for someone else to solve the problem, Nkgoedi and his fellow student leaders began encouraging students themselves to become part of the solution. Donation drives were launched, awareness campaigns expanded and conversations with faculty leadership intensified.

The goal was never simply to provide food. “A very important consideration is respecting and restoring the dignity of students,” he says.

The pantry now supports students facing a range of challenges, from food insecurity to period poverty and financial hardship. Requests are handled anonymously, ensuring that students receive support without embarrassment or stigma. 

For Nkgoedi, these small acts of care can have a profound impact. “Getting help makes people feel human and seen and cared for. You’re taking away their worry of where their next meal will come from.”

One hand washes the other

At the heart of Nkgoedi’s leadership philosophy is a simple Xhosa expression: Izandla ziya gezana – one hand washes the other. It is a principle he returns to often. Whether organising food drives, collecting scrubs for first-year medical students or facilitating conversations about inequality and social justice, his focus is always on building communities where people support one another.

“When we work together as one, our fire as a community will never stop burning,” he says. His belief in collective responsibility has been shaped not only by his upbringing, but also by his experiences at SU.

Before arriving on campus, he had never been exposed to such a diverse range of people, perspectives and life experiences. “Stellenbosch University has opened my eyes to the reality that we are an unequal country,” he says. “We usually group ourselves into those inequalities. In a melting pot like our campus, we must move out of our comfort zones and meet each other.”

University has also taught him valuable lessons about resilience. One of the biggest challenges he faced was learning to overcome the fear of failure. Early leadership ambitions did not always unfold as planned. Yet those disappointments eventually led him towards what he describes as his biggest achievement of the past few years – now being in a position where he can do groundbreaking work that really matters.

“My biggest achievement is being given a chance in leadership to do things that are truly impactful, like the success of our scrub drive and the improvements in pantries across campus and how diverse groups of people have opened up to join in difficult conversations.” 

As South Africa commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising this Youth Month, Nkgoedi believes young people have a responsibility to honour the sacrifices of earlier generations through action. “They wanted better for themselves and for us. For me it starts with how I, as an individual, can make a difference.”

Outside of medicine and student leadership, he enjoys singing, dancing, making what he describes as “corny jokes” and spending time with friends. “I’m a big connection-type person,” he says.

Nkgoedi hopes to one day combine medicine with public health leadership, helping to improve healthcare systems and service delivery in South Africa. His ambition remains as bold as it was when he was a child folding paper aeroplanes in a hospital ward.

“I always like to think big and ask myself, ‘How can I bring about the greatest impact to improve people’s lives?’” Then he smiles. “I believe life meets you at your level of audacity.”