“Receiving a bursary from Canyon Coal bursary has really changed my life, considering that I took a gap year the previous year (2013) due to financial constraints. My legal guardian (my father) who was the family’s sole bread-winner at the time, earned a very meagre salary which meant he could not afford to take me to varsity. Canyon Coal took me in, and supported me in my academic endeavours, and today I am a graduate with a BEng (Hons) Electrical & Electronics degree. I will forever be grateful towards Canyon Coal, because I am the first person in my family to go to varsity, and come back with a qualification. The bursary covered registration, tuition, text books, accommodation and monthly stipend. I was also offered paid holiday work to gain practical experience, which supported the theoretical knowledge that I gained from university. From here on I want to go into the deep end of doing field work and get my hands dirty, as much as possible. I then intend after three years, when I am eligible to register as a professional engineer, to apply for the status and hopefully pass. My long-term goal is to attain a master’s degree to further my understanding, which will hopefully aid me in reaching a managerial position down the line.”