Graduation brings excitement, job worries

No one knew that the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University’s Potchefstroom campus on 13 March was to be the last, but shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa banned all gatherings of more than 100 people. He declared a state of disaster on Sunday night because of the Coronavirus.

Students who graduated on Friday were excited to be capped – albeit from a metre away.

Lindi Goba, a journalism and media studies honours graduate at NWU, said she was “extremely exhilarated” about the day. “2019 was a tough year for me academically, I am generally a very self-driven individual. But last year I felt like giving up so many times. This graduation is a celebration of my undying fighting spirit that pulled me through an academically challenging year,” Goba said. She is now studying towards her masters degree.

She was especially excited because she received her second degree – honours in journalism and media studies (cum laude). Her first graduation ceremony was on the North-West University’s Vaal Triangle Campus, where she graduated with a BA communications degree in 2018.

It didn’t take long after graduating for Goba to find employment. “Fortunately, I was blessed with a job before I had even completed my studies in 2019. I am currently working as an intern corporate journalist for an organisation that creates games and manufactures slot machines for casinos globally,” she said.

“Working in a completely new environment has been an eye-opening experience and I have fallen in love with the gambling industry,” she added.

Umamah Bakharia, now an honours student in journalism and media studies, was also excited about graduating. “I am excited because I am finally getting a degree. Receiving that certificate in my hands means that my dream of becoming a graduate is now a reality. It also means that all the hard work, sweat, tears, and sacrifices I have put in for the past three years have finally paid off,” she said.

Bakharia explained that, to her, graduation day means a stepping stone towards great things. “It is a celebration of your achievements. And getting to wear that black gown means you have actually accomplished something that is worth celebrating.”

Another student, Ntswaki Hlongwani, who completed her studies in psychology and labour management at the North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, last year, was just as happy about graduating. “It means I finally get to support my family, who sacrificed a lot to get me through school. I am happy that I finally get to give back to them.”

Some students, however, are not as excited about their graduation day. Nokhuthula Dlamini, an alumna at the NWU’s Vaal Triangle campus, said, she is not looking forward to the ceremony, due to the high unemployment rate amongst graduates in the country. Graduations on the NWU’s Vaal Triangle Campus will take place in May 2020.

“I think it is pointless to be excited and go all out knowing that after graduating, I am going to sit at home and add to the unemployment number in the country,” Dlamini said. She will be receiving a BA degree in communication.

Dlamini has been struggling to find employment since completing her studies in 2019. She explained that she is afraid of the pressure that graduates get from friends and family. “Everyone expects you to find a high paying job as soon as you graduate, and that is not always the case. Some people are not as fortunate as others, especially if you were an average student like me,” Dlamini said.

Rodney Livhalani, an alumnus at the NWU’s Vaal Triangle Campus, agrees with Dlamini. “Coming to university was a dream come true. We were told that this is all you need to make it in the corporate world. But now we are faced with the true reality of unemployment. It is painful having successfully completed your degree and then being told that there are no jobs out there,” he said.

Livhalani will be receiving a BA degree in communication. He explained that the degree will have a meaning to him as soon as he finds employment. “The graduation day does not mean much to me; I think this day will only have meaning to me when I find my first job. I hope that after graduating, that will become a reality.”