It was a double excitement for the Ndlovu family who witnessed their twins, Amanda and Ayanda Ndlovu graduate Cum Laude for their Diploma in Accounting at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Celebratory Autumn Graduation ceremony, held at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg on Monday, 25 July 2022.

The 22-year-old identical twins from Bisley in Pietermaritzburg were ecstatic to be among the DUT top achievers who were acknowledged for their academic excellence at the ceremony.

When asked about how they both managed to obtain Cum Laude for their qualification, they both replied, “Great minds think alike”.

According to Ayanda, from early childhood they have been inseparable and only close family members could separate them. At the event, the twins wore identical suits, and even had the same hairstyles.

“Since primary school, we have been studying together. Helping each other with school work and assessments. We do everything together, that is why we opted for the same qualification at DUT. We studied together and ensured that we were both on the same page with regards to our studies. We made sure that our focus was on our studies as it was our dream to obtain Cum Laude,” said Ayanda.

Sharing the same sentiments was Amanda who said studying accounting was indeed their first choice as they were always fascinated by numbers. She pointed out that in High School, Accounting was their major subject in high school and they excelled in it.

Furthermore, their achievement made their family proud especially their father who regards them as “daddy’s girls” as they are the last born.

Speaking of the challenges they faced, online learning was one of them. They faced major network problems which resulted to them missing assignment deadlines and sometimes tests too, fortunately they were given another chance to improve their performance with make-up tests.

“Nothing comes easy in life, you need to work hard for everything you want to achieve and everything requires hard work,” added Amanda.

Going forward they plan to obtain a career in Accounting and work as Chartered Accountants. They are currently doing their internship together at an Accounting firm in Scottsville.

Pictured: The Ndlovu twins, Amanda and Ayanda Ndlovu.

Photographer: Vusi Dlamini

Simangele Zuma and Nonkululeko Ngcobo