Meet Kholekile Martha Chisale, who graduated with an honours in Education: Assessment and Quality Assurance in Education and Training (2009);  Paseka Blessing Chisale, who holds a  BEd Senior Phase (2011), honours in Education: Assessment and Quality Assurance in Education and Training (2016),  and Masters in Education (2020); Ufulu Martha-Junior Chisale, who graduated with BIS Information Science (2014), PGDip Communication Management (2018), and MPhil Strategic Communication Management (2020); and Thamsanqa Chisale, who graduated with a BAdmin Public Management and International Relations – all proud graduates of UP.   

According to Kholekile, she and her husband decided that UP was an obvious and excellent choice for their children. “It is close to home, and a place where we thought our children would learn and grow as they prepare themselves to be contributors of society and the world at large. As one of the best and most respected universities in the country, it was an honour for us to study there.”

“In my view, the role of the alumni at UP is to demonstrate and showcase the Institution’s ability to produce professionals who are leaders and innovators in their respective fields of expertise,” said Paseka. “Moreover, the role of an alumnus is to make use of the knowledge and skills acquired while studying at the University to seek out solutions and effectively contribute towards solving the myriad of social issues and ills that plague our communities and South Africa at large.”

Thamsanqa says a highlight for him was being able to finish his degree, having completed both his second and third years of study behind a laptop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was great receiving monthly data incentives of 20 GB from UP to help me complete my studies. I enjoyed the life lessons I learnt from my lecturers, with Dr Christopher Isike having really stood out for me. It was a pleasure being in his class and I am glad I crossed paths with this lecturer in my second year.”

“Tackling the pandemic and trying to move on with studies as if everything was normal was challenging.  Having to write final exams on campus after having completed most of my degree online was a challenge. Yes, these challenges were difficult, but I overcame, as students and as graduates of 2021; we overcame,” added Thamsanqa.

Acording to Ufulu, Thamsanqa advises other students not to stop at just an undergrad degree: “Go further, and get all the postgrad degrees you can; become a specialist in your field but also have broad abilities and skills to be able to adapt to the changes and different careers of this world. Learn as many broad academic and technical skills that are not central to your degree as possible. In a world where things change quickly, it’s important to make sure that you are an expert in your field or that you can quickly change to a new career without needing to study again or learn new skills.”