Reply from Dr.Hofmeyr

I sure do enjoy your mails. The last one is a real gem. We at Study Trust are also worried about the skewed funding pattern caused by the fact that the corporates partnering with us are obviously trying to grow the talent and skills pool in their respective industries and the we thus fund many more budding CAs, engineers and actuaries than sociologists, anthropologists, artists and actors. But we do get some money from individuals who contribute on a monthly basis and they do not prescribe to us so we can fund the odd artist, like the one who last year won the Sasol New Signature Award for her work Pierneef goes Plascon (Maryke van Velden from Stellenbosch).



I find what you say about the pressure to become a CA (or an actuary) really interesting. I sometimes despair when I think of the talented and determined bright young people we fund and how they say things like “I want to climb the corporate ladder” without knowing what awaits them. I recently read the book by Alain de Botton called The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and the picture it paints of most professions is bleak indeed. One of the only occupations that comes off well is that of an artist. De Botton followed this artist over a two-year period in which he just painted one tree under various circumstances – in rain and shine, winter and summer, night and day. Eventually he had an exhibition and sold enough paintings of the tree to at least give him an income – more or less equivalent to that of a plumber’s assistant. But you are right, the reader gets the sense that this guy is happy – something that cannot be said of the accountants and marketing managers also profiled in the book, to say nothing about the tuna fishers and the logistic engineers. By the way, I really recommend this book, as well as De Botton’s other books, of which his second book The Consolations of Philosophy you might find of particular interest.



Your mail inspired me to talk to our corporate funders about including the odd social science or art student in their bursary programmes.



By the way, my own son is first year BA Dramatic Arts at Wits this year.



I will attend to your enquiries about payments either tomorrow or on Monday when I am in the office.



Have a great weekend.



Warm regards

MH



Murray Hofmeyr

National Director: Study Trust