Ongeziwe Mamayo (22) from King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape graduated this afternoon (16 May 2023) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Indumiso Campus Hall in Pietermaritzburg. Mamayo obtained Cum Laude for her National Diploma in Business Administration.

Mamayo enrolled for her National Diploma course in 2020. She explained that her focus went beyond excelling in her studies as she the applied for a Student Library Assistant post at Riverside campus- and was accepted for it. This was when she was doing her final year of study, in 2022.

Mamayo gave herself credit for never giving in, even in difficult times, and her supporting structure.

“I often joked about this last year as a way of motivating myself to start my assignments and to study. I would tell myself that when graduation comes, I want to see Cum Laude next to my name, that would confirm that I have indeed made it. Obtaining this accolade has given me the motivation that I can literally overcome any obstacle if I set my mind to it and it proved that hard work pays off,” said Mamayo

For Mamayo, this achievement is a win for herself and for her family. She explained that her family was happy and proud of her, and that made her happy that she was able to bring joy to her mother’s heart.

She described 2022 as a year that throwed lemons at her, suggesting that it tested her as a student juggling between work and in-service training and then on top of that she fell pregnant. Mamayo squeezed the lemons and made a lemonade out of them as she turned those challenges into motivation to achieved Cum Laude.

Due to lack of funding, Mamayo could not further her studies this year although she alluded that she will continue studying in the future.

“To first year students wishing to achieve academic excellence, all I can say to you is that, it may seem so hard and so challenging at first but nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy so you just have to keep going,” advised Mamayo

Pictured: Ongeziwe Mamayo

Nikiwe Sukazi