Losing her mother one week before her June examinations while juggling studying and a full-time job could not deter Thavisha Odayar who graduated Cum Laude and was awarded the esteemed Dean’s Merit Award for her Advanced Diploma in Management Sciences Specialising in Operations and Quality at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2024 Autumn Graduation at the Olive Convention Centre (OCC) on Friday, 24 May 2024.
The bubbly and optimistic 28-year-old from Chatsworth in Durban stated that her journey with DUT began in 2014 when she registered for a Diploma in Biotechnology.
“After completing my matric year in 2013. Being raised in a middle-income family, after my mum being retrenched, meant that the opportunity to study immediately after high school was minimal to none. However, I was lucky enough to be one of the very few students in my year to be funded by NSFAS and have part of my academic fees being converted into a bursary due to good academic achievement,” said Odayar.
She said that she had the opportunity of being employed at Illovo Sugar (SA) (Pty) Ltd as an in-service trainee for the completion of her Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Programme in 2016 during her final year of her diploma study.
“In 2017, after the completion of my WIL, I embarked on the journey to further my studies and registered as a full-time student for the BTech programme in Biotechnology and got offered a permanent position at Illovo Sugar (SA) (Pty) Ltd where I currently work as a Packaging Analyst in the Quality Control Laboratory,” she said.
Odayar said that after a rollercoaster three years, she completed her BTech in Biotechnology in 2019 and in 2023 pursued an Advanced Diploma in Quality to broaden her horizons having been exposed to different elements of the industry life, and having started her academic journey at DUT and experiencing the best of tertiary education, the decision to come back to continue her studies with DUT was an obvious one.
She said that she had experienced her fair share of challenges along the journey many of which came with being a full-time employee and a part-time student but the biggest challenge she has had to face was losing the most important person in her life, and her biggest pillar of strength and support, her mother who passed on one week before her June exams.
“My whole world was turned upside down within a minute and there was nothing I could have done to change it. In between the mandatory rituals and the visits of condolences, having the time to study and concentrate on exams, all while dealing with grief, became a privilege. By the grace of God, I was able to persevere, and successfully completed the semester,” she added.
Odayar described her achievements as “euphoric!” and said that she was ecstatic when she found out she will be graduating with Cum Laude and obtaining the Dean’s Merit Award for academic excellence and to see that all the time, effort and hard work that was put into the year paid off much more than she bargained for.
“This was my first Cum Laude and first Dean’s Merit Award and I am so grateful that I got to receive both at once. I have never imagined that I would ever receive these types of accolades and to finally say that I have, was a feeling that was unmatched and I would not have made it this far if I didn’t have the love and support of my family, friends and colleagues, and for that I extend my sincerest Thank You,” said Odayar.
Odayar concluded that she is currently registered for the Postgraduate Diploma in Quality and aspires to build a solid career in the Food Safety/Quality department of the Food and Pharmaceutical industry, whilst still expanding her knowledge academically. She advised others who wanted to embark on the same journey to anticipate difficulties and hardships but to never let that get them down.
Pictured: Thavisha Odayar.
Photographer: Mnqobi Ngobese.
Thulasizwe Nkomo
