Sahil Dowra

Everyone has a little bit of I want to save the world in them. I want to let you know that it is okay if you can only save one person, and it is also okay if that person is you.”
-Unknown

As a child growing up, every day was a race to get home before 17:00 to watch SABC 2. Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, Spiderman, the list is long, but one thread weaved through them all: heroes saving the world. I would be one of them.

My origin story begins in Newlands West, Durban. I spent the first 11 years of my life here, living in the house my father built (just as my father grew up in the house his father built). My father is a mathematics teacher and my mother an attorney of law, the power of education has never been understated in my household. “Education is the key to every door”; my mother would say as she took me to the local library down the road from our house. The library was my Watchtower, and in it I was able to jump into worlds real and fictional. And when the day had been saved and it was time to go home, my young arms would be filled with books of fiction and science. 

At 12 we relocated to Pretoria and the shift was immense. Everything was different: socially, culturally, even environmentally - it was my first stumble. I realised quickly that I would need to use the skills in my utility belt if I were to thrive in this new land. Socialising and networking has always been a strength of mine, and I used this superpower to save myself - I stopped stumbling and began walking. Soon after arriving in Pretoria, I graduated to Pretoria Boys High School, it was here that I learnt to run (and ‘tis here I learnt to live). 

Pretoria Boys High shifted and expanded my entire perspective of the world, and myself. I felt like Superman staring at the globe from space, with no opportunity too far from reach. I used my time at the school to seize every opportunity that I could, immersing myself in the experience. I learnt what it meant to be part of something larger than myself. It was through my adventures at the school that I realised that I would save the world, but that I did not have to do it alone.

University was never not an option for me, it was simply a matter of deciding what to study - How would I save the world? I thought about engineering, medicine, chemistry, technology, and biology; I thought about the future and what it would need. Genetic Engineering, I decided. This decision led me to Stellenbosch University, on a bursary, to study a BSc Molecular Biology and Biotechnology degree. 

If High School showed me the world from space, University showed me the world up close. During my time studying, I grew ever more fascinated by the small intricacies that this world and its life was supported and dependant on. I would often spend my free time in random lectures, hopeful to stumble upon a missing piece of information for the answer I sought. I am hopeful that when I return to University to complete my Honours degree, I will step ever closer to that answer.

The year after I graduated from University, the 21st Century was struck by a global disaster: Covid. During the midst of this mayhem, I found IESHER. When joining the Institute, I made a single promise to myself; I would apply myself fully and wholeheartedly. During my time, thus far, IESHER has equipped me with new skills, tools (and powers) that I need for my quest to save the world. I have developed incredibly, from my administrative skills to my business knowledge and acumen. As I have progressed and proven myself, I have been promoted to the Team Leader, working closely alongside the CEO and Founders. I still have a lot to grow and develop, but I am confident in my ability to do so. I truly believe in what IESHER stands for, and I stand confident in the knowledge that IESHER believes in me. IESHER will be the air beneath me, and with them I will no longer run, but fly.