Siphesihle Sibiya chose to study a qualification with a “fun name” not knowing she will grow to love and excel in it.
Sibiya is ecstatic after being informed that she is going to receive the prestigious Dean’s Merit Award for academic excellence and graduate with Cum Laude for her National Diploma in Horticulture at the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) 2020 Virtual Graduation ceremony to be hosted online on Wednesday, June 10 at 12pm.
Sibiya who took a gap year in 2016 due to not being accepted at any university is thrilled that her hard work, countless hardships and sleepless nights finally paid off after obtaining 13 distinctions out her 16 modules.
“I wasn’t expecting to receive a Dean’s Merit Award, so when I found out, I was ecstatic. The funny thing is that I had to keep explaining to my mother what it meant before she lit up and hugged me. My family is very proud of me. Some family and friends said they expected it and are not surprised. I am still letting it all sink in,” said Sibiya.
Speaking about her journey at DUT, Sibiya who is originally from the rural village of Ogocini at Amatikulu, outside Gingindlovu said it started in 2017, after being accepted to study for a qualification she had chosen for its “fun name”.
“Sadly, I was rejected by DUT for Biomedical Technology but they accepted me for the National Diploma in Horticulture. So my journey with DUT started off as a fluke of just having chosen a qualification with a fun name. I then read up on Horticulture but even then I still didn’t fully know what to expect. February 2017 as I sat there in class on the 5th floor of ML Sultan, my lecturer Mr Dhiren Govender introduced the course to us. I instantly knew I was in the right place and took it from there,” said Sibiya.
She stated that it was not any easy journey as she nearly dropped out of university during her second semester of her first year, due to lack of funding.
According to Sibiya she was blocked from registration but was saved by the introduction of Quintile 1-3 system which allowed her to register.
She said she had to rely on her brother for support who had become the sole breadwinner for their family after their father passed away in December 2014.
“I invested all my time in my studies and used the little money I had for groceries. I had no new clothes or laptop. I had to borrow my friend’s laptop until I saved enough money to buy a second hand laptop. I thought all my problems were gone in 2018 when I got funding but my allowances stopped in May until they resumed in October. I experienced a similar problem in 2019 but that is all in the past now,” stated Sibiya.
She said she plans to further her studies to an Honours Degree level and hopefully in the future she will get to walk on the graduation stage.
Pictured: Siphesihle Sibiya is ecstatic after excelling in her National Diploma in Horticulture, awarding her a Cum Laude and a Dean’s Merit Award.
Simangele Zuma
