Turning challenges into change

Each year, the University of Cape Town (UCT) gives recognition to students whose academic and extracurricular activities have driven change within the institution and beyond. This year, Callum Ryan Beukes, LLB graduate and master’s candidate, is within those ranks.

While his list of undertakings and achievements are certainly inspirational – having served as the vice-president of Students' Health and Welfare Centre’s Organisation (SHAWCO) Law, both the media and communications officer and president of the Law Students’ Council (LSC), as well as the vice-president of RainbowUCT – Callum’s journey into student leadership was driven by something far less stirring: a feeling of disconnect.

“I started at UCT in 2020, so I didn’t really have the chance to be on campus for the first two years of my degree and we were being spoon fed a little more than usual because everything was online. That all left me feeling very detached from UCT and my education as a whole,” he said.

Following a relatively slow start, it was an exam for the notoriously challenging Law of Delict that altered the trajectory of Callum’s life at the institution. He confessed that while his “world was completely rocked” when he realised that he would have to repeat the course, it was likely for the best in the long term.

“That was the moment when I decided to start getting more involved outside of the lecture hall. I looked around and noticed that I wasn’t the only person struggling with the adjustment post-COVID – all of us were – and I felt like there weren’t many student leaders at the time that were speaking to that struggle,” he explained.

A transformative path

With a passion for politics, activism and the transformative power that engaging about and with people’s rights can have, law and student leadership have proved to be a perfect fit for Callum.

“I’ve always viewed law and politics as transformative fields of study, where you’re forced to be a bit more progressive. Law has been a catalyst for change in South Africa and lawyers a conduit for changing the history of our nation. That’s something I really wanted to be a part of,” he said.

“Law has been a catalyst for change in South Africa and lawyers a conduit for changing the history of our nation. That’s something I really wanted to be a part of.”

“It’s nice to be able to occupy space in the right way. I also felt like the law could open doors for me to occupy space for people like me – queer people – who weren’t able to do so before.”

That isn’t to say that the young lawyer’s path to personal and academic actualisation has been completely free of challenges, though. Once again, it was a sense of misalignment that proved to be a driving force in his academic career; this time between his ideals and his environment.

“There was one incident when I was in Grade 12 that made me realise I wanted to study law at UCT. I had made an Instagram post about Uyinene [Mrwetyana] and was labelled as the only feminist in my grade. It was used as a bit of an insult and I was so worried about being singled out for it,” Callum recalled.

“I had been making the decision between law and theatre, and I realised in that moment that staying in my comfort zone would not be the ideal thing because it wasn’t going to make me grow. Coming to Cape Town and UCT offered me the opportunity to enter into a highly transformative environment and become my own person.”

Creating a supportive and inclusive environment

Considering his background, it’s unsurprising that Callum has found the opportunity to create a supportive and inclusive environment for all students to have been one of the most rewarding aspects of student leadership.

“Something that I really love about UCT is that boundaries are constantly being pushed and there’s this constant desire from the students to push agendas that need to be pushed, whether that’s Fees Must Fall or just getting a non-bathroom source of water in the Kramer Building,” he explained.

“Everyone … is always encouraging you to be the best version of yourself while they’re also pushing to be the best version of themselves.”

“It’s a very transformative environment, not just in the sense of making institutional change, but encouraging personal growth. Everyone I’ve had the privilege of working with here – not just students, but lecturers, teaching assistants, everyone – is always encouraging you to be the best version of yourself while they’re also pushing to be the best version of themselves.

“Of course, we still have our problems. But it’s amazing to witness that when students see things they disagree with, that they feel empowered to stand up and point out that the system is unjust or exclusive, and that it needs to be changed.”

Growing into greatness

In 2024, Callum took home three Student Leadership Awards: one for the LSC, one for RainbowUCT and another for his individual achievements. Juggling his responsibilities and studies has naturally been challenging, but he noted that this has opened up even more space for personal growth.

“Going into third year and taking up leadership roles was scary at first, but it was a great feeling to step into that space and start making a difference,” he said. “Telling myself that I am capable and that I could do this took me a long way.”

In this vein, Callum advises other students with leadership aspirations to take note of what those around them are doing, create a framework for success and, most importantly, just be themselves.

“I love learning from different people and sort of seeing what works in their leadership style and how I can bring that into my own individual style. Also, setting small, achievable goals helps me to build my confidence because I know that if I’ve done this one thing, I can probably do another,” he explained.

“Another huge aspect is just occupying space. When I was running for LSC president, I was hesitant about whether to run as an openly gay candidate, but I did and it freed me of years of feeling like I had a shadow following me. It made me a better leader and a better person.”