“Knowing my background and having a desire to change it, has always been a driving force behind my commitment towards my studies,” those are the words of Mvelo Siyaya who graduated today, 09 May 2018 with a B-Tech in Internal Auditing (Dean’s Merit Award and Cum Laude) from the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
Siyaya who grew up in a rural village in Vryheid also achieved remarkable results when he graduated for his National Diploma in Internal Auditing last year, obtaining 30 distinctions. “I don’t think it is just about being smart, but I believe that you also need to have the right attitude and work hard, and you can achieve good academic results,” said Siyaya.
Even prior to studying at DUT, the 22-year-old passed his grade 12 with four distinctions out of seven subjects. Unhappy about his Senior Certificate results, he committed himself to making sure that he passes all of his subjects with distinction during his time at DUT.
“I had 10 subjects for each year and in all of my three years at DUT, I have been getting distinctions for every subject. Dedicating my time to my studies really helped me because when NSFAS could not fully fund me for my tuition, I qualified for the DUT remission (which is a merit award for students that qualify to receive other bursaries or scholarships provided that they have an aggregate of 75% or more for each of their instructional offering for the year of study),” added Siyaya.
Siyaya is very optimistic about his future prospects, and he is currently pursuing his Masters in Internal Auditing and he is also a Part-Time Lecturer within the same programme.
“I’m very passionate about assisting other students, and I’ve been a tutor since my 2nd year. My goal is to become a lecturer because that is where I can make a meaningful contribution towards shaping other students. Earlier this year I declined a job offer from an accounting firm, so that I can work on my Masters because I believe that academia is where my passion lies,” explained Siyaya.
He has already made an impact in terms of mentoring and tutoring other students, as some of the students he was assisting will be graduating with Cum Laude for their National Diplomas in Accounting. Sanele Nkosi obtained 25 distinctions and Thokozani Nkosi obtained 28 distinctions.
“I’m really grateful for the contribution of my tutors like Mvelo Siyaya because his guidance was valuable and it shaped my thinking,” said Thokozani Nkosi.
Pictured: Mvelo Siyaya
Nduduzo Ndlovu
