What makes Her Campus UCT so special and unique from the other chapters is that our members, writers, and students are incredibly diverse. Each person has something beautiful and interesting about them – a story to share, a talent, or an outlook on life. We’d like to celebrate our diversity by zooming in on individual’s stories, speaking to them about what they’re most passionate about and letting them shine on our platform. Whether it be just for a chuckle or to actually share some wise words, we’d like to introduce a new series to Her Campus UCT: Humxns of UCT.
This Humxn of UCT is Khumbuza Cele, a third-year Bachelor of Commerce (PPE) student majoring in Politics and Economics. This is the full interview that was conducted to share her story over social media. She describes herself as a young, strong and spiritual Black Womxn with a purpose in life to serve others and change their lives for the better. I’d like to think of her as following in the footsteps of UCT Alumnus, Aqueelah Harron-Ally (ig: @fashionbreed), who, much like Khumbuza, started out on UCT Radio and has now flourished into a renowned Instagram Influencer and ‘Girl Boss’. Anyone who listens to Khumbuza’s #PreGame UCT Radio show on Friday evenings or avidly keeps up with her fashion and travel posts on Instagram, will agree that this description couldn’t be more apt.
Inspired by Khumbuza’s versatile ability to ‘switch up’ from public affairs to “spilling the tea” on relationship advice on her show, I wanted to provide not only a face, but a full story behind the UCT Radio On-Air voice.
Tell us about your role as a UCT Radio On Air host and the challenges that come with this role?
I started UCT Radio when I came to university in 2016 and my role has mostly been one of learning. I’ve been lucky to co-host with some of UCT’s best, Mark Akol, Ayanda Nyathi and a few others. Now on my own show, I’m kind of stepping into my own stride and trying to create a unique and identifiable personality that I hope to take into commercial radio. On the show our goal is to entertain and to get people thinking in different ways, whether it be about formal politics (what’s going on in SA or around the World), informal social topics (relationship/spicey kind of conversations) or just random ideas. In terms of fans, since its radio a lot of our listeners don’t know what I look like so I’m not too often stopped in the streets by fans but critics critique regardless. Last semester my show received quite a bit of backlash from “black twitter” for how we dressed certain controversial topics, with articles being written in our university newspapers, New24, etc. So this job is very sensitive to public opinions but that really is the beauty of it, we have an amazing platform to influence discourse and so our role in society is to analyse common and current discourse and maybe change certain narratives in a positive light.
How do you keep your Instagram content so captivating?
I am obsessed with Instagram and creating visual content that represents me and my life. I can’t say I have a secret to creating my brand as I’m still in the process of developing it and getting it to the level I’d like it to be. In terms of captivating my followers, I think people are attracted to having an authentic and aesthetically pleasing peephole into your life so that’s what I want my social media platforms to be (without leaving myself completely exposed).
Is there an influencer you aspire to be like?
I guess that would depend on, in what area of life you are referring. With regards to social media, there are many influencers that inspire me in how they create content and develop their styles constantly. But in terms of life in general, specifically life ambitions (as corny as it is), I’d have to say my mom. She is one of the only people I know who have tapped into exactly what their purpose is in life and spend every day doing exactly that. Because at the end of the day, I think that’s what we should all be doing – looking into ourselves (by studying our personalities, strengths, weaknesses, values, etc), finding what we are passionate about (because that’s the area in the world that we have been created influence) and doing what we can to make that area better and more inclusive for future generations.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time? Where do I see myself in 5 years? I have no idea, I’m not one to make detailed plans too far into the future but wherever I am and whatever I’m doing I hope I’m happy, spending that happiness to others and getting closer to fulfilling my purpose.