Reubenson realises opportunities and leads the way

King David Victory Park matriculant Daniella Reubenson truly embodies the notion of being an all-rounder, excelling in every aspect of her high school career: sports; Judaica; cultural activities; and academics.

Reubenson was the captain of the touch rugby team, one of the heads of Judaica, as well as a notable high achiever.

One of the biggest challenges she had to face going into her matric year was learning how to juggle everything and still be able to give it her all.

Reubenson had to learn how to juggle hobbies, leadership roles, and academics as she had so many opportunities, but could be in only one place at a time.

“Originally, I wanted to put all my effort into everything I had to do, but this obviously wasn’t possible. However, earlier in high school, I prioritised sport and other hobbies as well as my social life because academics weren’t as important. In matric, I had to focus on academics as this would shape my future,” she says.

Despite the stress of juggling different leadership roles, she did everything with passion and efficiency.

The highlight of her matric year was being one of the heads of Judaica as part of the student representative council.

“I was involved in organising the Judaica activities of the school relating to Israel and the chaggim, which I enjoyed as it taught me leadership skills as well as the ability to plan things, and gave control of how the school community was able to understand what was happening in the Jewish community in the world today.”

She also took her leadership skills to the sports field as captain of the touch rugby team in her matric year, and represented Gauteng in touch rugby tournaments. “This was a highlight for me, as I was able to meet people from different backgrounds and schools,” she says. “I was able to build resilience and teamwork while creating connections that I otherwise never would have made.”

Reubenson says the secret to her success was taking hold of any opportunities that came her way, whether that be from school or the wider community.

She says she often had to experiment to find out what the best course of action would be for her. “I often had to try new things and go out of my comfort zone. That meant doing something that I didn’t think would be beneficial. Afterwards, I was able to realise different aspects that were useful to me in the long run.”

To do so, she had to be extremely organised and make sure that all of her tasks were done on time and to the best of her abilities.

“I also had to learn to invest time in the right places because there were so many opportunities and so many different things I had access to.”

Reubenson is going to study at the University of the Witwatersrand this year, with a choice of actuarial science, medicine, or engineering. “I would like to stay involved in and give back to the Jewish community,” she says. “I’ll do it using the leadership skills I learned throughout high school.”