Shooting the lights out with a passion for learning

Becoming top student of her matric year at Crawford Sandton wasn’t a foregone conclusion for Savanna Cohen. In fact, when she entered high school, she wasn’t even in the top 20.

Thanks to a tremendous effort and change of perspective, however, this Dux scholar walked away with an overall average of 91.85%, eight distinctions, and a spot in the top 1% nationally for History, English, and Life Sciences.

“Over the years, I saw my marks start to rise,” says Cohen. “I did this by realising the importance of doing well in school and having a work ethic. I also started to understand concepts in class, and I found that I really enjoyed learning.

“I remember counting down the days until school started again during the December holidays. I turned school into something I was passionate about. From then, my marks increased purely because of my love of learning and my desire to challenge myself.”

Cohen’s success is also remarkable in light of her diabetes, a condition which put her at some disadvantage because it forced her to learn online throughout her matric year.

“I have type 1 diabetes,” Cohen says, “so I have to use a diabetic pump and give insulin injections from time to time. One of the problems with my diabetes is that when I get stressed, my blood sugar levels skyrocket and rarely come down. It makes my vision blurry, causes headaches, nausea, and it becomes hard to concentrate.

“I had to stay at home and learn online for the entire year. It was hard for me not to have interaction with my teachers or peers when they went back to school. Learning from a computer screen wasn’t easy, and I was often scared of falling behind when my friends went to class and received face-to-face lessons.”

The symptoms of high blood sugar made it especially difficult for Cohen to study, especially during exam sessions.

“I was worried about my blood sugar going high during an exam but luckily, my final exams went well and there were rarely any problems,” she says. “Diabetes is a difficult disease to manage at any age, and the pandemic coupled with the stress of matric made it hard to work and study.

“I had to teach myself some of the syllabus and while that was hard, I still earned the highest marks I have ever achieved in school. Resilience is the most useful tool. By overcoming these challenges and problems, I have learned lessons I will carry with me throughout my life.”

Cohen certainly excelled. Beyond her academic success, she was elected to serve on her school’s student executive body and even played provincial touch rugby during her school career.

“I recognised the importance of having a balanced work, sporting, and social life during high school, and made sure that I put time aside to play matches and go to practices and tournaments while still ensuring that my marks were at their usual standard. Although some nights I would come home late from a touch rugby game at Zoo Lake, I made sure I never went to bed without doing my work.

“It was important to maintain a balance between the different spheres of my life, and I managed it well by knowing my limits.”

An aspiring scientist, Cohen will study astrophysics at the University of Cape Town this year. Having succeeded beyond her imagining, she believes students should focus on what they enjoy, whether that be art, history, or mathematics.

“Once you start discovering what you are passionate about, you might become more willing to dive a bit deeper into other subjects,” she says. “I recommend exploring your interests and even topics you might have no interest in yet. The world is a treasure chest filled with knowledge and opportunities to learn, you just have to be willing to find the key and open it up.”

For Cohen, success is the feeling you get when you have worked incredibly hard for something and achieved results that make you happy.

“Success is something that’s earned and makes you proud,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be something anyone else is proud about. As long as you are happy with your accomplishment and you know that you deserved it, you are successful.”