Chris McConnachie is a young man who is going places. He has just been awarded a Rhodes scholarship to commence studies at Oxford University in October 2010. A broad grin lights his face as he talks about this fulfillment of a dream – a dream that captured his imagination when he was a pupil at Graeme College, right here in Grahamstown. He remembers hearing that another old Graeme boy and Rhodes student, Eusebius McKaiser had been selected as a Rhodes scholar and realized that it could be possible for him too.
However, as wonderful as it might be to study in the hallowed halls of Oxford, this opportunity is not an end in itself, but only one step along the way. Chris is very focused about the direction in which he is heading: constitutional law and human rights litigation – law that makes a difference. He has already secured a sought-after position as a clerk in the Constitutional court starting in January 2010 and continuing until the academic year begins in the UK.
Being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship brings with it both honour and responsibility. It is not simply a pat on the head for having excelled; it is an investment in young people who are identified as having the potential to make a significant positive contribution to society. The website of the Rhodes Trust states that the selection committee look for ‘intellectually gifted and motivated young people with the talent and the desire to lead and with a genuine commitment to serve their societies’. Chris McConnachie fulfils these criteria. His academic record both as a BA undergraduate studying Philosophy, Economics and Law and continuing through his LLB studies as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar, has been exemplary. But Chris’s engagement with life extends way beyond his books.
He has excelled in debating, winning national debating championships at school and university level and was best individual speaker at the 2009 African Human Rights Moot Court Competition in Lagos. He has also been actively involved in community service which has included working to develop schools debating in the Eastern Cape and serving as a legal advisor at the Rhodes Legal Aid Clinic.
But this unassuming young man is quick to acknowledge the people and institutions which have nurtured his development and made his achievements possible. Growing up, he was witness to the way in which his parents consistently lived out their strongly held values of social justice and community involvement. He also pays tribute to Graeme College, to the teachers who encouraged and inspired him and to the exceptional leadership of headmaster Peter Reed.
And what role has Rhodes University played in the unfolding of Chris’s dream? Chris believes that the vast range of opportunities available at Rhodes for involvement in clubs and societies, in student leadership and in social outreach make it easy for students to make a contribution in arenas that are not necessarily academic. This was an important aspect of what the selection committee, consisting of luminaries such as Gill Marcus, Judge Edwin Cameron, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and Rhodes’ own Prof Tebello Nyokong, were looking for. He also feels that Rhodes is fairly unique in South Africa in the open access one has to staff and the sense that one is much more than a number.
Chris is now one of a much smaller number of Rhodes scholars from around the world and he is ready to take up his place in this community of leaders, embracing all that this ‘incredible’ opportunity offers.