A passionate Caitlin Marissa Bemiah (22) from Malvern in Durban graduated with Cum Laude and the Dean’s Merits Award at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Celebratory Autumn Graduation ceremony on Tuesday, 12 July 2022 held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Durban International Convention Centre (ICC).
Since the beginning of her journey with the DUT, she has excelled in her studies, and just after she completed her Diploma in 2019 she received a remission of fees due to producing outstanding academic results.
Her love for chemistry was sparked by the realisation that chemistry is all around us and a multifaceted discipline. She has always been aiming for such an achievement.
“Ever since I was in first year, I always aimed for Cum Laude,” she said.
She was proud of her strong dedication and hard work toward her studies that it finally paid off, though she didn’t expect to be awarded with the Dean’s Merit Award after facing so many challenges in her academic journey with her research project. She was even more thrilled to be awarded with both Cum Laude and the Dean’s Merit Award, and being funded by Cipla SA also played a significant role to making her journey complete and successful. Her family being one of her strongest support system throughout her journey, were even more relieved and happy for their daughter’s achievement.
“My family was filled with mixed emotions, tears, joy and a sense of relief knowing that my sleepless nights had finally paid off,” said Bemiah.
Analytical chemistry has always been her passionate choice of study, she had this profound love of being surrounded by chemistry.
“Every facet of life involves chemistry, it is not just limited to beakers or laboratories, but it is all around us. I believe that science, chemistry in particular, is the ultimate puzzle and I’ve always viewed myself as an ardent puzzler. I have the privilege of setting out daily to complete this puzzle as I strive to make my mark as a woman of colour in the world of science,” explained Bemiah.
Receiving the news that the physical graduation will take place this year, she was even more excited, as she has always dreamt of herself being on the graduation stage to experience this prestigious moment with her family and friends present.
By remaining positive it helped her to overcome the challenges she faced with the online learning, intense workloads and tight deadlines.
Despite all these challenges they inspired her to push even harder to accomplish her academic goals.
“God has always been my biggest motivating factor and my source of strength through these challenging moments. I always took solace from the Bible verse, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” said Bemiah.
Currently she is working in a diagnostic lab with the aim to build her chemistry knowledge. Bemiah plans to study further towards a Master’s Degree level in Chemistry with a research focus on medicinal chemistry.
Her advice to first-year students is to ensure that they choose a career path wisely that they are passionate about and not choose something just for the sake of it.
“As Steve Jobs stated, the only way to do great work, is to love what you do,” concluded Bemiah.
Pictured: Caitlin Marissa Bemiah
Picture Credit: Mfundiso Khanyile
Nonkululeko Ngcobo
