Courageous graduates honoured at UWC
ICY temperatures and intermittent rain could not put a damper on graduates who filled the Great Hall at the University of the Western Cape yesterday.
Hundreds entered the hall as students, and left as alumni, as their loved ones beamed with pride with cameras and cellphones in hand to capture their achievement.
Yesterday was the first of two ceremonies which will confer 44 Doctor’s degrees, 131 Master’s degrees, 60 Honour’s degrees, 285 Bachelor’s degrees, 89 diplomas and 13 certificates.
University vice-chancellor and rector Professor Tyrone Pretorius congratulated the graduates.
“Statistics do not tell of your sacrifices, your hard work, your determination and resilience. Statistics do not speak to the sacrifices your friends, family, loved ones and guardians made. I salute all you graduates, I salute your parents, your guardians and your loved ones,” he said.
Proving that determination was the key to overcoming any challenge was Andrew Madella who received a postgraduate diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies.
Madella was just 9 months old when he contracted polio, leaving him with limited used of his legs. At the age of 3 his mother died.
But these obstacles did not deter the young man from Cradock in the Eastern Cape. He became an anti-apartheid activist, secretary-general of Disabled People South Africa and a unionist, and held key positions at the National Development Agency and Employment Equity Commission.
Today he is a Member of Parliament and deals with land reform.
In a first for the university, a husband and wife received their PhDs on the same day.
Gérard Filies and Sylnita Swartz-Filies, who have been married for 20 years and have two children, are both occupational therapists.
The completion of their PhDs was an enlightening journey for the couple from Kuils River.
Pretorius also saluted the institution’s female leadership.
“I am proud that UWC is an inclusive space. Here, we can and must celebrate the fact that our institution is filled with powerful examples of strong, accomplished and successful women. Our executive team is dominated by women leaders and three of our seven deans of faculties are women. Eight of our 17 SA Research Chairs Initiatives or SARChI Chairs are held by women.
“Our council leadership now reflects a female chairperson and deputy,” he said.