Silindile Gwala (23) from Esikhawini, Richards Bay obtained a Dean’s Merit Award with her Diploma in Pulp and Paper Technology at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2024 Autumn Graduation, which took place at the Olive Convention Centre on Monday, 20 May 2024.
Prior to joining DUT in 2021, Gwala had taken a brave step and deregistered after her second-year of study at a certain university when she realised she had deviated from the career path she initially intended to follow.
“I had taken the courageous decision of changing the course I was doing at a different university while I had two years down and I was only left with one year to graduate. Studying for my Diploma in Pulp and Paper Technology has been a journey worth embarking on, there’s no better feeling than being a student in a course you enjoy doing with all your being. The love I had and still have for my course made me very eager to learn and to study hard, which lead to my good academic performance,” shared Gwala.
From the word go, she strived for academic excellence. She indicated that whenever her roommates at the residence would ask her why she always studied hard, she would inform them of her goal which was to graduate Cum Laude with a Dean’s Merit Award.
“I knew that to obtain a Dean’s Merit Award, I had to be a top achiever in my class, and I told myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. I was overwhelmed with so much joy upon receiving the good news via email. It felt like a dream because it’s something I’ve been dreaming about, it is actually a dream come true. This is proof that if you set goals and then work towards obtaining them by actually putting in the hard work, nothing can stop you from reaching them,” said the proud Gwala.
Some of the challenges she faced as a student included dealing with group members who did not want to participate in group work, the transition from online learning to contact classes, and having to deal with being a class representative of a transitioning class. The most challenging time for her was in her final year where she faced financial difficulties.
“I got rejected by NSFAS due to that I wasted two years of being funded by NSFAS at another university doing a course I didn’t enjoy. I did not have enough information about NSFAS, I was unaware of the changing rules and thought I would be covered until the end. It was hard to focus on my studies while I was worried about my financial state, but I did my best to maintain my good academic performance because I knew I had set a goal for myself and I had to achieve it,” explained Gwala.
She is currently being offered a training position at Mondi, with a possibility of becoming a permanent employee. Her aim is to grow both in the workplace and academically. Gwala plans to grow past being an operator and head towards a supervisory position and even to reach the managerial level.
Gwala believes it is never too late to change direction once one has figured out that one has taken a wrong path. She feels all it takes a bit of courage, hard work and dedication to reach one’s dreams.
Pictured: Silindile Gwala.
Photographer: Mnqobi Ngobese.
Simangele Zuma
