Joy was written on the faces of the Yengwa brothers, Siyabulela, 22, and Ayabonga, 24, who both graduated cum laude during the Autumn Graduation Ceremony at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), held at the Olive Convention Centre on Wednesday last week.
The siblings were two of the numerous adaptive graduates honoured for their outstanding academic achievements in the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics.
The brothers, who both completed a Diploma in Library and Information Studies, obtained their qualifications with multiple distinctions, earning Siyabulela a Deans Merit Award for Academic Excellence and Ayabonga a cum laude.
Siyabulela said at the beginning of his studies he experienced challenges in terms of assignment and test submissions, especially in his first year, during the Covid-19 pandemic when online learning was introduced.
“I was not previously exposed to various learning platforms which were used, and as a result I ended up not completing my first test due to the slow pace of writing. I was so desperate in getting high marks in all my modules and afraid of failing, so I trained myself by listening to both lecturers and post lecture recordings to write my own notes, based on my comprehension, and this assisted me to improve in my studies and my self-confidence towards my studies,” he said.
Siyabulela said Library and Information Studies was his first choice of study, as he believed in providing access and exposure to information so a culture of reading and learning could be promoted and used, regardless of the environment, and make everyone aware of their expectations as a responsible citizen.
His older brother, Ayabonga, said it was a roller-coaster journey but he was grateful it ended fruitfully as their parents were proud.
The Mercury