Golden Key is excited to introduce Melt Hugo, one of Golden Key’s 2020 Outstanding Member Award winners. Melt has earned four degrees from Stellenbosch University, including a BSc in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, B.Sc. Honours in Genetics, M.Sc. in Plant Biotechnology and an MB, ChB in Medicine.

“Winning this award has been a dream several years in the making,” Melt says. “To be recognized by the most prestigious international honour society in the world is – an indescribable feeling. This award serves as the golden thread of my achievements and journey at university. An utmost humbling and cherished feeling that I will forever hold dear. The Golden Key brand is incredibly revered around the world, and I could not be prouder of my association with it.”

Melt is genuinely honored to be a Golden Key member.

“The Golden Key International Honour Society represents more than just recognition for top academic efforts,” Melt remarks. “It has become an academic metric that many employers and postgraduate programs utilize to gauge the strength of their applicants. Receiving an invite to the society is often considered to be one’s greatest goal (and subsequent achievement) at university. An academic milestone that will forever be reflected on the records provides an even greater opportunity to network and travel the world.”

Melt’s dedication to his education is reflected in the many awards he has received.

“Some of my top achievements include The Rector’s Award for Leadership (2017) and Service Provision (2020) and graduating as the top master’s student within the Institute for Plant Biotechnology (2018),” Melt shares. “I am most proud of my time as an executive member of the Students’ Representative Council (2018 – 2019), Deputy Speaker of Student Parliament (2017 – 2018) and serving as the Co-Vice President of the South African Medical Students’ Association (SAMSA).”

Along with Melt’s many accomplishments, he enjoys being an active member of the Golden Key Stellenbosch Chapter.

“My experience with Golden Key South Africa and the Stellenbosch Chapter has been nothing short of supreme professionalism,” Melt explains. “The society certainly lives up to its reputation here, and I believe they really set the benchmark for many societies to follow. The responsiveness on communication is swift and forthcoming, the ceremonies – spectacular.”

Melt is very grateful for the opportunity to receive this scholarship.

“After winning the award, I have also felt extremely proud of the achievement and welcomed by Chris Yarbrough and Natasha Maharaj,” Melt says. “Thank you. Your message of congratulations really goes a long way. I hope my achievement may inspire and motivate others to strive towards the three pillars of academics, leadership, and service so that they, too, can contribute to a better Stellenbosch, South Africa, and beyond.”

Thank you for being a part of the Golden Key family, Melt; we wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors!

Golden Key is overjoyed to introduce Madiha Changezi, one of Golden Key’s 2020 Outstanding Member Award winners. Madiha is studying a double major in Law and Political Science at the University of Waikato.

“My sole reason for choosing Law and Political Science as my majors stems from my passion for equity, fairness and justice,” Madiha says. “I strongly believe in using my voice and my privileges to bring about the change that this world needs. Therefore, I believe that my majors will equip me with tools and knowledge to be able to do that.”

Madiha enjoys staying an active member of her community.

“There are many ways I stay involved in my community,” Madiha explains. “One of the main ways is through my part-time role as a youth worker. My role involves working with ethnic youth from migrant and refugee backgrounds to support and empower them into evolving into their best self.”

In addition to Madiha’s youth worker role, she sits on many boards and committees.

“I sit on several boards and committees of different organisations, which enables me to be more involved in my community,” Madiha shares. “This year, I was part of Y25 list, which highlights the work of 25 rising trailblazing women under the age of 25.”

Madiha’s hard work has allowed her to achieve greatness.

“I was also able to win the Interfaculty Feminist Mooting Competition alongside my partner,” Madiha comments.

Madiha is very grateful for receiving this scholarship.

“This scholarship will support me financially as well as boost my morale as it is an acknowledgement of my hard work,” Madiha explains. “Scholarships and opportunities like these are very much needed as they support students like myself who put in so much hard work, and to get acknowledged for the hard work is all we sometimes need.”

Thank you for being a part of the Golden Key family, Madiha; we wish you the best of luck with your double major!

Golden Key is delighted to introduce Takisha Ogunyemi, one of Golden Key’s 2020 Humanitarian Service Award winners. Takisha earned her Bachelor of Psychology from Mercy College and her teaching license from Kansas University. She was inducted into Golden Key during her time at Kansas University.

“Although my rewards are internal, it is with great honor to be chosen as a recipient for the Golden Key Honor Society’s 2020 Humanitarian Service Award,” Takisha says.

Takisha is dedicated to her education and the betterment of herself and others. She pushed to pursue her Bachelor’s as a young mother, even when she wanted to give up. 

“My economics professor noticed how badly I was struggling and wrote a letter to my college advisor, stating that I was not ready for college,” Takisha shares. “After meeting with my college advisor, and reading those words from my professor, a part of me really wanted to drop out, and the other part of me knew to make a better life for myself and my daughter, I had to keep going. Fast forward, three years later, I graduated one year early with my Bachelor of Psychology with a concentration in Education.”

Takisha carried over her desire for betterment for others when she and her board officers founded a non-profit organization in 2016 called Young Entrepreneur Association, Inc. 

“We founded YEA because we wanted to make a difference,” Takisha explains. “I wanted to be the support in which I would like to have had. Words of encourage are wonderful, but I wanted to establish something more tangible, more economically equitable. Each year, YEA reached its goals of activism and community support through the support of personal, community and corporate donations and volunteerism.” 

Takisha’s commitment to helping others spills into her work as a teacher.

“Throughout my 15-year teaching career, I obtained accolades from my administration for my teaching and my advisory and sponsorship of two student organizations,” Takisha reveals. “I oversee the Students Against Destructive Decisions Club and the Cultural Awareness Club at Prince George High School. In 2019, I was the recipient of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU/VCEE) Economic Teacher of the Year Award.” 

Takisha, like so many others, was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Unfortunately, in 2020, my school district denied my request to teach virtually off-site, and I had to make the difficult decision to resign from my teaching position due to having two elementary school-aged children that are virtual learning and my youngest son and I having high-risk health concerns of Covid-19,” Takisha remarks. 

She, however, did not allow the coronavirus to stop her and instead turned it into an opportunity. 

“I decided not to look at this transition as a hinder but to look at it as an opportunity,” Takisha says. “An opportunity to pursue my passions, which are baking, teaching, mentorship, and service. Through Golden Key, I applied to become an online virtual tutor during this time.” 

Takisha has kept herself busy during the pandemic and started a new business.

“On April 21st, 2021, I made another courageous move, and I launched my online bakery website, sogoodcakes.com,” Takisha explains. “Within a few days of launching my website, I went viral on TikTok. This was an absolute shock and a true blessing!”

Among Takisha’s many achievements, she has continued to stay an active member of her community.

“I continued my mentorship and community activism through my Facebook lives and non-profit work,” Takisha shares. “Most recently, YEA was able to provide over $5,000 worth of merchandise donated by Walmart, Inc. to a mother/grandmother that newly stepped out of her comfort zone and started her jewelry business to better her economic status for herself and her family.”

Thank you for being a part of the Golden Key family, Takisha; we wish you the best of luck with your businesses!