Getting pregnant during her studies did not stop Luvolwethu Khasa from excelling in her studies at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). She graduated Cum Laude with her BTech in Homeopathy, at DUT’s Autumn Graduation which took place online on Thursday, 27 May 2021.    

Khasa (23) from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Homeopathy at DUT.  

In October 2019 she fell pregnant and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit South Africa in March 2020, she was in her second trimester and had to finish her degree.   

“I literally had that added challenge of going through the pregnancy, while trying my best not to be too stressed because stress was going to affect the baby. COVID-19 got serious, clinic and hospitals were closing, I had no idea where and how my baby was going to be born or even how safe it was going to be. I was just going through the most and I literally had to go for a C-section earlier because we had to come back to school for practical assessments. I left my baby at three weeks and I came back to being a student,” said Khasa  

She said this had an effect on her mental and physical health to some extent. It was a time where she needed all the support but unfortunately Khasa said she had to be alone tackling schoolwork and trying to recover.   

“It was very lonely and it was a very stressful and a very challenging time emotionally because I had not even gotten through the transition from being pregnant to being a mother and I had to go straight into being a student. I’m still surprised that I pulled through,” explaind Khasa.

Furthermore, she said it was also challenging for her to move to Durban in an IsiZulu dominated area while she is a Xhosa speaking individual. She said she rose above the challenge and managed to make good friends.  

Speaking about her achievement, Khasa said she was very shocked and thrilled.   

“I knew that I passed very well but I did not expect it to be Cum Laude level. And judging how challenging last year was, I was just happy I made it through to this year in one peace. My mother literally did not even know what a Cum Laude is, and she asked one of her colleagues at work to explain it to her. She could not believe it. My siblings are super excited as well,” she said.  

She is grateful to DUT for giving her a space to study when she came in as a walk-in applicant in 2017 after being rejected at various universities. Out of desperation she said she asked DUT to enrol her at any course in the Faculty of Health Sciences which ended up being Homeopathy, after meeting all the requirements. Khasa said she was thrilled as the academic year was about to start and the pressure of seeing all her friends being accepted at universities was getting to her. After some time, she fell in love with Homeopathy and never looked back.  

Pictured: Luvolwethu Khasa  

Simangele Zuma