Why BenkiSzn Exists.

When I became a mentor for first-year university students, I expected to help people adjust to campus life.

What I didn't expect was how many brilliant students were struggling just a few months into their first year.

Students who had been top of their class in high school.

Students who were the first in their families to attend university.

Students whose parents had sacrificed everything to see them sitting in that lecture hall.

And yet, many of them felt completely unprepared.

And slowly, their confidence began to fade.

The reality is that this isn't a rare story.

In South Africa, less than half of students who start a university degree graduate within the expected time, and nearly 50% never complete their degree at all. For many, the biggest academic shock happens in the first year, when the transition from high school proves harder than expected.

But statistics only tell part of the story.

Behind every failed course or repeated year is a student questioning their ability.

Behind every dropout is a family that invested time, hope, and thousands of rands into a future they believed in.

And the truth is, most of these students are not failing because they lack intelligence or ambition.

They're failing because they were never prepared for the academic demands of university.

That realization stayed with me.

Because university should be a place where potential grows — not where it quietly disappears.

BenkiSzn was created to close that gap.

To equip students with the preparation, systems, and mindset they need to thrive long before the pressure begins.

Because getting into university is an achievement.

But being prepared for it can
change everything.