MBAWC awards three top future master builders

The awards and prizes were given to the top students in the second and third years of the Bachelor of Science (BSc) Construction Studies course, as well as to the highest achieving honours student.

MBAWC executive director, Allen Bodill says: “We believe it is important to acknowledge outstanding achievement amongst young people and hope that they will go on to carve out successful careers in the industry.”

Taking the award for top-achieving second-year student, Daniella Legland shares that she feels honoured to be recognised by an association that is so crucial to the industry in which she will work. She will be saving the prize money, saying: “As a student, some extra savings will not go amiss.”

The 21-year-old from Mauritius has always had an interest in the built environment. She initially wanted to study architecture but realised that her true passion was working with numbers - leading her to pick quantity surveying as a career path. Legland opted to study in South Africa after taking a gap year on completion of her A-Levels to research which universities offered a quantity surveying degree that would present her with the best opportunities. She would like to enter the industry as soon as possible and gain as much experience as she can.

Courtney Meyer from Kommetjie, who was recognised as the best performing BSc Construction Studies student in the third year of study, is currently working toward attaining a BSc Honours degree in quantity surveying. Like Legland, she too considered a career in architecture but was drawn to the financial aspect of being a QS. She hopes to experience the construction industry outside of South Africa and will be applying for positions in either Dubai or London after graduating in December this year. She would like to put the prize money towards funding her travels.

The award for the best Honours BSc construction management student went to Robert Day. Bodill encourages other students to work hard and get to the top of their class.