Activist succeeds on many fronts

Sasha Rodenacker is a rebel with many causes. A staunch activist who has always had strong opinions, this Herzlia matriculant showed a level of social consciousness throughout high school and championed various campaigns aimed at making the world a better place.

“Any sort of social consciousness began for me in Grade 10 upon joining the United African Society (UAS) committee at school,” Rodenacker says. “Soon thereafter, I joined the African Climate Alliance (ACA), and increasingly got involved with Habonim Dror and Extinction Rebellion Youth – the environment committee at school – and the Gay-Straight Alliance.”

Rodenacker maintained his involvement in activism in matric, using the activity to stay energised and take a welcome break from schoolwork. He even managed to head up the UAS during this time.

“On Women’s Day, we highlighted the arduous experiences of women in South Africa via harrowing statistics of gender-based violence and rape. During the nationwide protests in 2019 following the murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana, we held a week of consciousness raising about gender-based violence. Every day, we did something different, ranging from talks, videos, discussion groups, to poster making, and we wore black in remembrance.”

Rodenacker was struck by the amount of constructive conversation this generated at the school.

“It really took hold of the week,” he says. “People were having motivating talks about the #MenAreTrash movement, the problem with gender stereotypes, and the fragility of the male ego.”

Rodenacker also played a pivotal role in raising awareness of climate change.

“We held three climate-change marches and rallies which had on average 1 500 to 2 000 people protesting at each demonstration,” he says. “Organising and seeing the protests come to fruition was such a rewarding experience.

“We protested to create a sense of urgency in the government for more climate action before it’s too late. We also held beach and river cleaning sessions, created a community garden, and wrote numerous articles for publication.”

Beyond his activism, Rodenacker was also involved in organising a partnership between Good Hope Primary School and Herzlia, resulting in students from the latter being tutored in maths once a week.

“My role was to motivate Herzlians to sign up for tutoring, and to ensure the classes were set up and taken down after the tutoring session,” he says. “I got involved as I saw an opportunity to aid some students in their school journey, hopefully making maths a bit easier, and to use the privilege that I have to give back to the community I live in.

“Sometimes it was hard to explain certain concepts to the students, but that’s what a teacher has to deal with daily. The reward was the nachas we got from seeing the ‘click’ in their mind when they got a concept, and witnessing their progress.”

Beyond achieving seven distinctions, Rodenacker considers his activism a major success of his final school year.

“Success is personal,” he says. “A successful life isn’t achieved by measuring against what you perceive others to be doing. You have to introspect based on your own yardstick.”

Success is two-fold, he says. “You must be satisfied knowing you have done your best at whatever you had to do, regardless of the outcome. Whether you go for a run or watch a series, if you did what you needed to do in that moment, that’s a success.

“After that, success can be about having an uplifting impact on the people around you.”