Selina is a determined student from a rural village in South Africa who secured acceptance to university with the help of bursaries and scholarships. Through dedicated research using her school's computer lab, she applied to multiple universities and funding programs, including the University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, Wits University, Telkom bursary, and REAP. Selina was accepted by Wits University and received funding from REAP, Telkom, and NSFAS. She is now studying LLB at Wits and uses social media like Facebook and LinkedIn to connect with other law students and discuss coursework, but remains focused on her studies.

1. Case Study
Selinalivesin Ga- Mashashane village near Polokwane (Limpopo Province) with her mother Maria
and 2 siblings named Sipho aged 7 and Molly aged 2. Her mother is unemployed and the family
depends on Sipho & Molly’s social grants and casual work that her mother sometimes gets.
Selina is in grade 12 at Kgomo High School. The school was fortunate to get free wifi and 10
computers donated by Telkom as part of their Corporate Social Initiative (CSI). Mr Moloto (school
principal) urged students to use the computers for their school-work and to search and apply for
bursaries and institutions they would like to study at. Selina being determined and motivated to
change her situationsathome.She usedthe computerlabtofindoutuniversities,bursariesthatshe
can apply at, while her classmates were busy joining facebook and the likes.
Selina applied to University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria and Wits with the help of her
Maths teacherMrs Modipa. She researchedondifferentcoursesofferedatthe differentuniversities.
She alsoappliedforTelkomBursary,she founda website for an organisation called Rural Education
AccessProgramme (REAP) andcalledand they sent her an application form as she was from a rural
area and was performing well academically. She also applied for NSFAS.
Selina waited patiently and the 3 University replied with an acceptance letter, She chose Wits and
she also received positive responses from Telkom, REAP and NSFAS. She chose REAP because the
programme focuses on academic, social and emotional development of rural students.
She is currently studying her LLB at Wits and is very grateful to Telkom, REAP, her teachers and her
family for believing in her. She plans to look for internships online at Law Firms and government
departments when she is in her third year. Although, she has now joined Facebook, she uses it to
communicate with other law students on campus as a tool to help her with her studies – they
discusspastpapers,assignmentsandinformationonworkshopsorseminarspresentedbylaw firms.
She has alsojoinedlinked-inandislearningalotfromthe law professionalsonherpage.She isusing
the information she gets to put it on her blog for everyone to read.
Group Work
1. What are the benefits of social media in the case study?
2. Can you name the benefits of social media in your own life?
( ? Minutes)