The annual Abe Bailey Travel Bursary runs for three weeks, starting in England and ending in Scotland.
The bursary is awarded to selected South African university students to enhance understanding of different viewpoints, languages and cultures - to encourage leadership and open debate, to experience British Culture and promote South African unity.
Avelile believes he has been selected for this bursary because of his academic achievements, leadership skills and experience, “my keen interest in multidisciplinary issues, and my drive to uplift and develop communities around me are one of the qualities that I think awarded me this opportunity”.
Avelile graduated cum laude for both his Diploma in Forestry and his BSc Honours in Natural Resource Management and achieved an average of 81.5% for his Advanced Diploma in Forestry.
He has been the President of the Mandela University Forestry Association, and also served as the Regional Representative for the SADC region, overseeing strategy development and implementation in over eight countries in the region.
He has, among others, sourced more than R300 000 from industry and government to clear outstanding student debts in his department, as well as another R150 000 to support the learning development of other students and their attendance at conferences and symposiums.
He is currently a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and serves on the Mandela University’s Forestry and Wood Technology Curriculum Advisory Board.
He is also the Assistant Coach for the George Campus Football Team and supports in teaching mathematics and science in high schools around George. In addition, he is involved in various community development projects.
Avelile’s current Master of Science research evaluates the impacts of initial density and varying subsequent levels of mortality on pulp-wood growth, uniformity, yield and economic performance.
He aspires to be a research scientist with his current sponsor and work for the multinational company Sonae Arauco, which headquarters are in Portugal. However, he does not want to leave his granny in South Africa. He also wants to keep ties with Mandela University as a research associate.
Avelile is looking forward to engaging with renowned academics, visit world-class institutions, such as Oxford University and University of Edinburgh, and expand his professional network.
Professor Josua Louw, Director of Strategy in the School of Natural Resource Science and Management, aptly describes Avelile as "a young man of unblemished character and integrity, with a strong sense of responsibility, ethics, moral values, and righteousness."
His unwavering commitment to excellence aligns perfectly with the values of the Abe Bailey Travel Scholarship.