DURBAN maths whizz Maxine Khumalo has always reached for the stars but it’s the moon that prevents her from slipping into a dark hole when she misses her family and friends.
Khumalo is in the US where she has just started a PhD in Physics at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She says the sky always provides her with a sense of comfort, especially when she misses home.
“I kind of understand it very well. It’s like a soothing, knowing place. There were times, especially during my first degree in America, where I was really homesick and looking at the moon I realised everyone back home saw the same moon.”
The 25-year-old from Glenwood matriculated with eight distinctions from Durban Girls’ High in 2016, excelling in maths and advanced programme mathematics. During grades 10 to 12 she was sponsored by Sanral because of her achievements.
She attributes her success to luck and being born with natural talent which “makes me a lot less likely to get stressed about this stuff. I think, for a lot of people, they have to learn the skill. And I think I was just easily able to learn it”.
Khumalo says her gift for numbers was nurtured right from the start. At the age of about seven she had spent her weekends doing “Einstein maths” which is advanced maths classes for smart kids at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Her first degree was in astrophysics for which she received an Allan Gray fellowship and says this was her gateway to science.
“It was good because it was interdisciplinary and I got to do lots of different types of science, not just maths and not just physics, and also got to do computational mathematics and applied mathematics.”
Then the degrees started adding up: what followed was a Mandela Rhodes scholarship which culminated in an honours degree in mathematical sciences. Then she tackled two Master’s degrees simultaneously, starting with a Master’s degree in computer science at Wits University and, during this time, was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and moved to the US to complete a Master’s in Space Science at Florida Institute of Technology.
Khumalo is employed as a teaching assistant at the University of Central Florida to fund her PhD studies.
She says astrophysics is her safe space, but for the PhD she wanted to push herself beyond her comfort zone.
“And so I’m kind of focusing a bit more on quantum computing, because it’s a bit more new agey. But if I’m honest, it’s because it’s at the cutting edge for young people trying to come up with new things. There are lots of really interesting problems. It could be the future of computing and full stack computing but I’m sure I’ll be back doing star stuff at some point.”
However, life is not just about stars and sums because she also enjoy various crafts.
“I’ve just started learning how to knit over this winter break and I like to do yoga. It’s nice for anxiety, but it’s also nice for exercise and to start the day.”
She did debating throughout her school career and loves reading about politics.
Does she get her talent for maths from her mom, Ingrid, or dad Leon?
“My parents do not understand what I do and they never pressurise me academically, like ever. I think, for them, all of this stuff is very alien, it’s just Maxine stuff. My mother is terrified of long multiplication.”
Khumalo says her sister, Ursula, is her inspiration.
“She writes, ghost writes books and writes articles. And lots of her work focuses on search engine optimisation. I think she’s insane, because I’m still learning, going to school and I’m 25. And she’s got a real adult job and manages all her money and taxes and everything.”
Khumalo has advice for those struggling at school: “It can be really torturous and anxiety provoking and all those feelings are very real, and you’re not stupid or bad for having those feelings.”
Khumalo says “school” does end but, for her, it never will because she loves it.
The Independent on Saturday