PhD recipient makes history at NMU
Mathematical statistician, 32, overcame many obstacles to reach pinnacle of studies
As a young boy he saw little prospect of doing more beyond helping his grandmother raise several of his family members in a township in Alice (now Dikeni).
Fast forward and 32-yearold mathematical statistician and PhD recipient Dr Sisa Pazi has managed to do exactly that and a lot more, having made history at Nelson Mandela University by becoming one of the youngest holders of the degree in the university’s history.
Spurred on by his grandmother Hombakazi Ndaro’s request to see him don a red gown at his graduation before she died, Pazi crossed the stage last month to accept his hard-earned PhD in mathematical statistics and make his 85-year-old grandmother’s wish a reality.
But getting to the point of completing his research topic —“Validation and adaptation of statistical models based on the Simplified Acute Physiology Score III to predict inhospital mortality in an SA intensive care unit ”— was no easy journey.
“My late mother, Zukiswa Pazi, was a domestic worker and we lived together in an informal settlement in East London,” Pazi said.
“I do not have a lot of memories of my father, and when my mother died in 1997, I relocated to Dikeni at Melani location and lived with my grandmother.
“She raised seven children. “My sister matriculated in 1997, and she got a job as a waitress in Cape Town.
“She would buy Christmas clothes and our school uniforms.”
The top academic performer later moved to Gqeberha to live with his sister, Unathi Faku.
“I matriculated at Woolhope High School, second in the grade, but I struggled at first because all the lessons were taught in English.
“Granny used to say she only had enough strength to get us to matric, so I had no clue what was happening in the world or what would happen after high school,” Pazi said. After entering a programme run by NMU at the Missionvale campus, he was afforded an opportunity to study mechatronics.
However, he soon opted to study a B.Sc degree instead and graduated cum laude in 2014.
“The choice was difficult, because I had to support my family after I graduated.
“After graduating, I worked while studying for my Honours, and in 2015 I registered for my master’s degree.
“I got a new job at NMU as a lecturer in 2016.
“In 2017, I graduated with my master’s.
“I took a break for a year, because I was really tired, and my journey for my PhD started in 2019,” Pazi said.
He said had it not been for the support of his family, he would not have been able to finish.
“To cope I had to wake up at 3am to start working on my PhD, then get the children ready and take them to school, go to work as a lecturer at Nelson Mandela University and give attention to my family.
“My wife was very supportive
though.” He said despite all the challenges he was proud to have fulfilled his promise to his grandmother and happy to finally be able to spend more time with his family.
“I was determined that my upbringing would not determine my destination.
“That I was born poor did not mean I was going to die poor.
“It was not easy.
“I did not get the financial support to do everything that I wanted to do.
“If I ran out of food at university, I knew I could not call home for more money; I knew I was all alone.
“My upbringing was sad, but my destiny is bright,” Pazi said.