Though I grew up oceans and hemispheres away, I was captivated by South Africa in 1990-- when I was 12. I devoured book after book on the troubles and triumphs of South Africans in the struggle against apartheid; I envisioned as best I could the "veld," the Transkei, the shacks and alleys of Alexandra, Steve Biko addressing an open court. I remember listening to the radio the day that the ANC was legalized and Mandela was released from prison.

The chance to live in South Africa, to volunteer in Khayelitsha, was a dream come true. I came to IkamvaYouth as much to learn as to teach. On my first day of tutoring, I took my seat at the Nazeema Isaacs library with apprehension. I had no teaching experience and no idea how the students would respond to a White American, with an experience--and an accent -- so totally different from their own. Naturally, the students were entirely unphased as we dove into algebra.

As the morning progressed, I tried out the few words of Xhosa I had learned from my phrasebook. The learners were patient with me as I clumsily clicked consonants in the first of my many Xhosa lessons. I was hooked.

As the weeks progressed, I found increasing joy in the way the students' faces lit up whenever a concept clicked in their minds. I also rediscovered for myself the joy of physics, algebra, chemistry and geometry from the dimly lit corners of high school memory. I began to be familiar with the names and faces I saw each week, to ask how school was going and how their exams went.

Every tutoring session required focus and patience (and an early Saturday morning wakeup call), but for me just the opportunity to share my love of science and maths and develop relationships with real South Africans, both students and fellow volunteers, was a privilege. I was proud to shape, in my own small way, the new generation of South African leaders, and I was continually amazed by the students' optimism, openness, motivation, and intelligence.

Perhaps it is only fitting, but a boy who grows up in a shack who wants to become an architect, a girl whose family has no bank account who will one day be an accountant, couldn't help but inspire me. I want to say thank you to Sithembile, Simamkele, both Sinethembas, Lungani, Siphamandla, Mawethu, Funeka, Nolusindiso, Cikizwa, Siphumle, Phillip, Siyanda, Bulelani, Thobela, Axola, Nombulelo and all the many learners I worked with, whose names are not less important to me but only too difficult for my clumsy American tongue to retain.

To all Ikamva learners: as a young man, I read the stories of your fathers and grandfathers, your mothers and grandmothers, the heroes who fought for your freedom. They came a long way, but the fight has unfortunately only just begun. The future is in your hands. One day I will read your stories in the history books, the new generation of South Africans inspiring the world.