The Day Mandela Died: Where History and Inspiration Collided

To say that Sydney Choate Turnbull had an unexpected rendezvous with history would be an understatement.  On Dec. 5 the 23-year-old Nashua native and  2008 graduate of Nashua High North was en route to Stellenbosch, South Africa – near Cape Town - where she was coordinating an international conference on leadership when Nelson Mandela died.

“They didn’t tell us during the 12 hour flight for obvious reasons,” Turnbull explained, “But when we went through customs the agent said, 'Miss Turnbull, you have arrived on a “most auspicious day.’  When I asked why, he told me of Mr. Mandela’s death, and I felt my mind and heart implode.” 

Turnbull earned a degree in arts management in 2012 from Lesley University and began working for the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., a non-partisan educational and policy studies organization whose mission, in part, is to foster leadership skills in young international business leaders. The overarching goal of these "fellows" is to work to resolve the world’s most critical issues.  

As coordinator for many of the Institute's events held across the globe, Turnbull was in Stellenbosch for a week-long conference: “Leading in an Era of Globalization,” where some 60 participants were asked to reflect on both the attributes of “effective, enlightened leadership” in a Good Society, exploring the challenges leaders face in a time of increased global interconnectedness.

“Nelson Mandela is the very face of 'effective, enlightened leadership,' says Turnbull, “and to think about the irony of it all, to be in the vortex of history at this moment in my life is overwhelming.”

While unable to share specifics of the conference due to confidentiality, Turnbull described the tone as somber but hopeful.  

“The group is certainly mourning but, on the other hand, there is a celebratory sense that the experience will only serve to empower them even more to work for social justice in their respective countries when they return,” Turnbull says. 

On Dec. 10, as world leaders, including President Obama, gathered at Johannesburg's National Stadium to pay tribute to Mandela, Turnbull joined conference participants for a tour of Robben Island Prison, where Mandela served 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow South Africa’s apartheid government.  Now a national museum, former inmates serve as tour guides.  Mandela’s cell is still intact, a simple floor mat for a bed, thin blankets, and a trash can toilet.  A single candle was placed in the cell as a memorial following his death on Dec. 5, at the age of 95.

"Words cannot describe the feeling one is overcome with when entering the prison cell of Nelson Mandela," Turnbull said, holding back tears.  “I can’t believe it took until 1990 – the year I was born – for South Africa to end that horrible chapter in its history.”

Turnbull is the daughter of Carolyn Choate and Gordon Turnbull Jackson, former longtime owners of tv13 Nashua. Turnbull recalled that while Mandela is a great of inspiration to her and millions of others, her parents have had the biggest influence on her life.  

“From very young ages, my younger sister, MacKenzie, and me were totally submerged in the community service ethos, so working in the non-profit sector was a no brainer for me after graduating college,” she said.