When Lindie Bhila registered for her honours degree in Information Science at the University of Pretoria (UP) in 2021, nothing could prepare her for what her doctor shared with her: she was diagnosed with mycetoma, a disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissue caused by certain types of bacteria and fungi found in soil and water.

“When I was told I had mycetoma on my right upper lung, I was devastated,” said Bhila who graduated during UP’s autumn graduation season. “For a moment, it felt like it was the end of my life. It was very hard. At one point, I was very scared of dying and leaving my daughter to grow up without me.”

Bhila soon found that she was struggling to cope with her studies.

“I cancelled one of the modules that I found a bit difficult because it was all too much to take in,” she says. “There were many sleepless nights. The more I stressed, the more I started feeling the pain on my chest, which I had not experienced prior to the diagnosis.”

However, she found that by renewing her focus on her studies, she was able to keep going. In fact, she postponed a surgery appointment because it was nearing the May exam season.

“I wanted to focus on my exams,” Bhila recalls. “So the doctor gave me another date after the exams, though, I was not emotionally ready when I got to the hospital as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Despite her difficulties, Bhila obtained her Bachelor of Information Science (Hons) degree with a 76% average, which saw her being chosen as one of the top 15% in her class and as a Golden Key member. The Golden Key society is an internationally recognised, non-profit collegiate honour society affiliated with more than 400 universities.

For Bhila, getting a qualification at UP taught her that perseverance and hard work pays off. She says that alumni can build skills and knowledge-sharing networks that can help with fundraising, and create a support system for students as well the institution.

“Alumni can also provide their expertise to the university as guest lectures, industry experts and motivators or as career advisers to students,” she adds.