Good day Dr Lumen, Mr Watt, special guests, staff, and most importantly Men of College: My brothers.
Brother is a term used to describe someone who is a part of your family. To me, each one of you gentlemen seated here today is a part of my family. You are my brothers. My brothers that I would kill for, my brothers that I would die for and most importantly my brothers that I would cry for. Whether you are Keppler in second form or Khubeka in sixth form; you are a part of my family.
Now if I were to go back a few years and even allude to a sixth former being related in any way shape or form to a second former, I would be crucified. But what these men of the past fail to realise is that everyone at College, whether it be staff or boy, fall under the Jimeloyo: the College Mndeni, the College familie, the College family.
But as all families tend to do, we may fight with one another and even at times we may want to kill each other but ultimately, we love one another and if anyone were to mess with one of us; they would have to face 1300 boys. Like when the first team plays on Pape’s Astro or Goldstones; the opposition is not facing a team of 15 or 11 boys, but rather an army of 1300 CDF-infused College dogs.
Our brotherhood is built on something far greater than just going to the same school. Our brotherhood is built on blood, trials, tribulations, history, and most importantly respect.
But the ultimate question is: What makes College, College?
We make College, College.
From the respect we show, to the way we present ourselves and how each and everyone of us lives our lives, based on our core values, takes this great school from an ordinary institution like a Hilton, like a Michaelhouse, like a DHS, and evolves it into Maritzburg College – the greatest school in the world. We are College, but none of us are bigger than this great school. Yes, without us the school would fail, but without it, we would not have the brotherhood we do today. The brotherhood that binds us together through the badge. The badge that is etched into the heart of every College boy, where an imprint of an assegai and carbine is left behind. Where the journey from 2nd to 6th form turns our blood red, black and white.
This leads me on to the sixth form class of 2024: My day One brothers.
Our journey together has come to an end and many people are asking; what was better, the journey or the destination? Personally, what makes or breaks a trip is the company. Yes, we may have lost one or two brothers and gained a few on the way, but what we are left with is a group of 240 boys who I would not exchange for anyone else.
As we leave our jerseys, badges, and these red-bricked walls behind, as we don our old boys’ blazers, we look to each other for comfort in this sad time, reminiscing about the past. It feels as though we will never be part of the College army again, but once you have become a College dog you will always be one, we will always be a part of the College Mndeni. Yes, we may be leaving these great brick walls, but the lessons we learned, the memories we made, and the brotherhood we forged will remain with us forever.
Along this five-year journey, we have watched each other grow through the passing of time. From screaming our lungs out for the first team on a Saturday on Basher Ridge, to us being the ones shouted for by the boys. From us fearing higher formers, to us being respected by the lower formers and finally from us starting our new chapter in our lives entitled” Borver week”, to us ending this chapter with the phrase: “Having arrived.” Ending our College career.
And as we stand at the precipice of our high school careers, we look down into the abyss of the unknown. The future. But we do not fear, as in the back of our minds we remember the street: College Road, the place where our brotherhood was born. Our home.
Pro Aris et Focis