The story of Gershon Julius and the Professional Provident Society Foundation is, at its core, about what becomes possible when ambition meets timely support. Gershon’s journey from Selwyn in Roodepoort to the University of Cape Town reflects the determination of a young man intent on charting a different path for himself. The Foundation’s role in that journey is a reminder of how targeted educational support can steady a student at a critical point and give them the space to focus on learning, not survival.
Kapish Singh, CSI Manager for the PPS Foundation, says the intention is always to back students who show clear potential but sit in the “missing middle”, those who earn too much to qualify for state funding but too little to cover the real cost of university. “Our work is about ensuring that capable students are not derailed by circumstances beyond their control. When someone has the talent and the drive, they should be able to stay the course. Gershon is one of many students who simply needed a stable footing to continue building their future.”
Gershon grew up in Selwyn, a small pocket of Discovery in Roodepoort, while much of his early life played out in Westbury. It is a community where working families stretch every rand, and where access to education often determines who moves forward and who remains locked in place. He travelled across the city for school, eventually attending Roosevelt High, a daily reminder of his parents’ willingness to go the extra distance to secure better options for their children.
Leaving Johannesburg for the University of Cape Town was his first deliberate break from home. He says it plainly: he wanted independence. Cape Town offered exactly that, along with a reality check on what “adulting” really meant, budgeting, making decisions without a safety net and learning to stand on his own. Physiotherapy only became a clear direction in Grade 11, when a teacher suggested it, and after weighing it up with his parents, he applied and was accepted.
But getting in was only the first hurdle. Funding first year pushed his family to the edge. His father had lost his job during Covid, and with only one income coming in, the family landed squarely in the missing middle, earning too much for state assistance, but far too little to cover university costs comfortably. His mother used most of her savings to get him through that first year while they tried to secure loans and bursaries. Gershon describes that period as one marked by constant anxiety: “I kept wondering whether I’d even be able to come back.”
The turning point came from an unexpected place. His mother, who works at PPS, heard about the PPS Foundation bursary during an internal meeting. She realised her son might qualify, contacted him immediately, and encouraged him to apply. He was awarded the bursary for his second year, and the relief was immediate. The pressure to maintain strong academic results remained, but the fear of disappearing funding no longer overshadowed his studies. Since then, the Foundation has covered his tuition, accommodation, monthly stipend and, recently, healthcare cover, giving him the stability to focus on completing his degree rather than navigating financial crisis.
His determination comes from lived experience. He grew up watching how uneven access to education shaped people’s futures. He remembers classmates arriving at school without food, families doing everything they could merely to cope and the ease with which cycles repeat when opportunities are scarce. “I didn’t want that cycle to continue,” he says. “My parents worked hard. The way I honour that is by building something different for my own family.”
As he approaches graduation, he is already thinking about how he can contribute as a physiotherapist. He speaks openly about the strain on South Africa’s public health system and believes community-based education and group support could relieve some of the pressure. For him, giving back is not charity, it is responsibility. He carries one guiding idea with him: live life with no regrets. “If you change the past, you change the person you are today,” he says. It is a simple principle, but one that reflects a young man who has learnt from circumstances without being defined by them.
Gershon’s story sits within a broader national challenge. The Professional Provident Society Foundation focuses on students like him – young people caught in the funding gap. The Foundation supports missing-middle students with bursaries, academic and psychosocial support, and practical programmes on financial literacy, exam preparation and career readiness. Its work creates the stability that allows students to finish their qualifications and begin building sustainable careers. For many, the support is not just financial; it provides structure, confidence and the breathing room required to succeed.
Gershon does not hesitate when asked whether he would recommend the bursary to others. The support, he says, has been meaningful and consistent, giving him the chance to focus on what matters: finishing the work he started. As he prepares to qualify, he carries the clarity of someone who understands both the weight of opportunity and the responsibility that follows it. His story is one of pressure, perseverance and a future shaped by deliberate choice rather than circumstance.
