“I am ecstatic or you could say over the moon, to say the least. It took me a couple of moments to comprehend my results. I was expecting a Cum Laude pass as I had distinctions for my modules, however not the Dean’s Merit Award again. The feeling of achieving the Deans Merit Award which was beyond my goals is indescribable,” said an elated Karishma Singh.

The outgoing and curious Singh has achieved Cum Laude and the Dean’s Merit awards for her Bachelor of Technology Degree in Biotechnology (BTECH: Biotechnology), and will be graduating at the Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Virtual Graduation ceremony on 10 June 2020 at 12pm.

This is the second time she has received a Cum Laude pass and the Dean’s Merit Award, and it was not something she was expecting the second time as well. “I just completed all tasks to the best of my abilities which in the end allowed me to receive these two awards,” she said happily.

Besides her jubilation upon receiving the good news, her parents were also super excited and thrilled as any parents would be. She added that they knew that her endless hard work, long hours at the lab and sleepless nights did not go in vain.

Singh began her National Diploma in Biotechnology qualification in February 2016 and completed it in January 2019 with her in-service training. She then began her Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology qualification in February 2019 and completed the qualification in December 2019 with her dissertation.

For her, the choice of studying Biotechnology was her first choice amongst a list of other science-related fields. Ever since her childhood years, she had grown a fascination with science especially life science. “It is amazing how important Biotechnology is in our daily life which people tend to be unaware of or take for granted,” said Singh.

She stressed that there were challenges she had experienced whilst studying, so being able to establish a balance in life and prioritising one’s tasks are essential. “This was important as you do not want your academics to completely engulf your personal life as well. There needed to be time set aside for yourself, family and friends and for academics. Therefore, developing organisational skills was very important,” she said.

Nevertheless, she also added that there were fun times being a student. “The fun part was just the experience of being at university and having an amazing group of friends to join you in the experience whether it was during lunch dates or study sessions,” she replied.

Singh shared her views on being part of a virtual graduation this year. Adding that, at first, she was disheartened and was looking forward to a ceremony to commemorate and celebrate her success.

“However, the COVID-19 pandemic is something serious and has claimed the lives of thousands of individuals worldwide. This is the time to think about our safety and everyone’s around us. So, I think the virtual grad ceremony is a great compromise as we will still get a portion of the ceremony experience while staying safe and social distancing at the same time,” she stressed.

Singh was in the process of relocating to Pretoria as she was accepted for an amazing position, however, with the lockdown and restrictions she was unable to do so. “Hopefully, the situation in South Africa is contained soon and all operations are allowed. I am also planning on furthering my studies in the future to broaden my horizon of opportunities which would hopefully allow me to venture out into the world,” she said.

In essence, Singh would love to be a part of an outstanding group of intellectuals aiding in cancer research and the advancement of early cancer detection. “This is something I am very passionate about as I lost someone close to me that was only diagnosed during the fourth stage of cancer. However, I would need to further my studies in the medical field,” she said.

Her long-term aim is to hopefully establish her own company. “This is just the basis of my aims, there’s so much more that I want to achieve in life for myself and my family,” she said.

Pictured: Karishma Singh

Waheeda PetersCum Laude