For Phamela Cele graduating Cum Laude for her Diploma in Public Relations and Communications Management at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2025 Autumn Graduation Ceremony was a confirmation of her capabilities and that indeed dreams do come true. The ceremony took place at Indumiso campus in Pietermaritzburg on Monday, 12 May 2025.
Academic validation has always been important and being in the first position consecutively in her class has been evidence of her hard work. Knowing how hard she works she never expected anything less than the best from herself.
“Graduating Cum Laude has been nothing but a celebration, especially because I am the first to achieve something so big within the family. It has also been a realisation to those coming after me that anything is possible and they now have a tangible reference which is me,’’ she explained.
Surprisingly, the Durban born revealed that this was not her first choice of study, it was her last option. However, when she got accepted, she developed a belief that everything does happen for a reason. It made her believe in herself, trust her skills and capabilities.
When she joined DUT in 2022, she did not have much knowledge on the course, and she had no idea if she will excel in it. Indeed, it worked out as she was very determined to do her best and leave a mark at DUT.
Throughout her academic journey she had always resonated with integrity of which is amongst DUT Living Values. She believes that integrity ties in all the other values. She said it promotes strong morals and principles.
The 22-year-old said adjusting to the new environment was one of the most challenging parts in her academic journey. Through perseverance these challenges made her strong and they made her realised that she was accountable for her result regardless of the obstacles she encountered.
Sibiya aspires to gain hands on experience within the field and to continue to experience different aspects of Publication Relation and Communication as a broad field. Also, to assist in helping people in understanding of the importance of Public Relations because she feels some organisations are not so knowledgeable about this career path as yet.
She shared a profound advice to first year students by encouraging them to take a leap of faith and just do it. She also said that if you are someone that enjoys engagement, media, writing and speaking you are likely to thrive in this industry. Additionally, she added that they must give themselves time to learn about their career path and sharpen their skills because Rome itself was also not built in a day.
Pictured: Phamela Cele.
Vukani Langa
