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Down two flights of stairs, right down a long passage to the second last door a knock on a standard issue Rhodes residence door, and this is where I find Mvuselelo Gcaba. I sit down in the arm chair next to his neatly made bed and he returns to his chair at his desk. The desk is covered in books and it is quite obvious that this is someone who takes their academic career seriously. It is 10:30pm on a Wednesday night and while I was watching TV series not thirty minutes prior to the interview, Mvu has been working. When I tell him the interview will be short and to the point, I fail to realise the contradiction these words have to his stature. Mvu is far from short, his bulky frame takes up a large portion of the room but intimidation is the last thought on one’s mind. “Would you like something to drink?” he asks before I begin my cross-examination thus affirming his reputation as being kind. As cliché as it may be to say, he is the epitome of a gentle giant. I politely decline as I am a man on a mission and letting him stray from the task at hand may lead to long and lengthy conversations about anything and everything.
Mvu hails from Manor Gardens in Durban. When asked if he surfs or not he laughs and says, “Not a chance, black people and water don’t mix”. Despite this phobia of water he goes to the beach quite often when he is back home in Durban. “I go to the beach a lot but I don’t go in the water, I go cause I know there will be girls in bikinis”. One needs do nothing else but take a look at his profile picture on Facebook to know that Mvuselelo Gcaba is a lady’s man. While we are on the topic of women I ask him if he expects to find his wife at Rhodes and he says, “My wife is in Durban, the one thing that has disappointed me most at Rhodes is the women. I expected them to be much hotter. I heard there was a high ratio of women-to-men but high numbers mean nothing when there is limited talent.” He is a man of great confidence who clearly knows what he wants. Putting two and two together I ask if this means his long term aim is to work and live in Durban and he says, “I’m not a Jo’Burg person and I’m Definitely not a Cape Town Person!”. I ask him what else he expects to gain from being at Rhodes, despite a degree and he tells me that, “I plan to learn how to deal with life more effectively, I’m here to meet new people and create contacts in the business world for when I’m done.”
To end off my interview I ask him a bit about his personal life. He has a brother whom is 11 years of age, he quickly tells me his brother was not planned but that his parents love him more. Usually this statement comes from a place of bitterness but in Mvu’s case it seems to come more from affection than anything else. It is quite evident he is happy to play the role of big brother and to give his brother something to aspire to. And a good role model he is. He excels at Academics at Rhodes, he was voted on to his residence’s House Committee within 4 months of living there, and he even manages to find time for Sunday afternoon basketball. Mvuselelo Gcaba is someone who has stayed grounded and stayed true to himself but has also embraced the title of “first year” whole heartedly. He works hard, he plays hard, and he’s rather hard to miss in a crowd. The nickname “Baby Shaq”, says it all.
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