A Durban University of Technology (DUT) Choir Project Officer, Lwazi Chiliza was all smiles as he was awarded his Diploma in Management Sciences specialising in Retailing at the DUT 2024 Autumn Graduation ceremony, which was held at the Olive Convention Centre on Friday, 24 May 2024.
The aspiring musician, Chiliza (22) from Mthwalume was excited to walk the graduation stage for the first time. He was ecstatic to see his choir mates, family and friends cheering for him, celebrating his achievement.
His journey at DUT commenced in 2021 during the time of COVID-19 which posed some challenges to him as he had to adapt to online learning.
“Honestly speaking it wasn’t easy but with the systems that were put in place to ensure that we adapt to online learning really helped me. My journey as a student was never easy as I was someone who was very active, I had like three extracurricular activities. I’m a member of the DUT Chorale, I played soccer for my residence and imagine I had to attend training four days a week, and lastly during the year 2023, I was elected to be the Deputy Secretary General of the Central Housing Executive (CHE) under the office of Student Housing and Residence life. During the year 2023 I can say I was tested as I had to balance my academic life with me leading all students that stayed in DUT Residences,” shared Chiliza.
He joined the DUT Chorale in October 2021 after hearing about it from the former chairperson, Mr Cebekhulu. He indicated that he had joined the DUT Chorale because he had a passion for singing and he wanted to be part of the community that shared his passion. For him being a choir member also brought him a sense of belonging.
“On the DUT Chorale, I serve as a Project officer, and I’m also a tenor singer. I have been a member of the choir for the past two years. It wasn’t easy as we were low in numbers. We had members that were less than 25 of which it gave us problems whenever we were planning something, or we were invited somewhere to perform. So, my highlights in the DUT Chorale was the joy of creating harmonious music, the camaraderie among choir members, and the opportunity to perform in front of fellow students, staff, and families especially during the first year orientation,” added Chiliza.
Speaking about his love for singing, Chiliza revealed he had inherited the singing voice from both his parents, as they used to sing together at a church choir. His father was a bass singer and his mother was an alto singer.
“My passion for singing started in my primary school days, the conductor knew my parents, so she had forced me to join the school choir, that was how I started singing. My father used to also play piano for the church choir, and he would take me for some lessons then my love for music developed from there,” explained Chiliza.
He had extended his appreciation to his biggest supporter, which he had indicated was his mother, Cecilia Ntombimpela Njilo. Chiliza said that his mother always encouraged him to do better and to do more, so he dedicated this first qualification to her.
“I’m the first graduate within my siblings so I wanted to dedicate the second qualification to my younger siblings and the kids in my community to encourage them to study hard, I want to be an inspiration to the young ones,” concluded Chiliza.
Pictured: DUT Chorale member, Lwazi Chiliza.
Photographer: Mnqobi Ngobese.
Simangele Zuma
