Having her first child during her first year at university did not stop Siphesihle Bhengu from excelling in her studies.
Bhengu (23) from eShowe, KwaZulu-Natal graduated Cum Laude for her Bachelor of Education (Economic Management Sciences) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2023 Autumn Graduation ceremony held this afternoon (Monday, 15 May 2023),at the Indumiso Campus Hall.
Her journey at DUT began in 2019, however it was a tough year for her. While she was adjusting to the university life, she was also expecting her first child. Bhengu worked extra hard to ensure that her pregnancy did not deter her from excelling in her studies.
Bhengu is grateful to her family for looking after her baby while she focused on her studies. The young mother explained that giving up was not an option for her as she was the first one in her family to go to university.
“ I had to overcome all the challenges I faced during my studies because being at a university was a huge privilege for me. I am the first on in my family to get this opportunity to study at a university, let alone to graduate. Graduating Cum Laude is a great honour for me. I did it for my family as I knew their eyes were on me and had faith that I will return home with my qualification,” proudly said Bhengu.
The highlight of her achievement was hearing her mother saying she was proud of her. Seeing the excitement her achievement brought to her family, it assured her that her sleepless nights were worth it.
Speaking on some of the challenges she faced during her studies, Bhengu said the biggest challenge was transitioning from physical learning to online learning during the outbreak of COVID-19.
“ It was very tough having to study while being at home and sometimes loadshedding would often disrupt connectivity and I would miss some of the classes. I made it a point to go back to the recordings to catch up after each class,” added Bhengu.
Her passion for teaching goes way back when she was a little girl. Bhengu detailed that she would come home from school to teach her imaginary learners what she had learnt from school that day.
She plans to further her studies as her wish is to obtain a PhD and be called Dr S Bhengu.
“My aim is to build a stable foundation to the future of my learners. My advice to first year students, make sure you are passionate about being a teacher and everything else will fall into place,” concluded Bhengu.
Pictured: Siphesihle Bhengu.
Simangele Zuma
