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It was a double celebration for twin sisters Nthatisi and Nthati Ntheri, who graduated cum laude during the April 2022 graduation ceremony of the University of the Free State (UFS). The Ntheri twins were two of the many graduates honoured for their outstanding academic achievements during a graduation session of the Faculty of the Humanities, which took place on the Bloemfontein Campus on 20 April 2022. The twin sisters, who both completed a Degree in Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Business Management and Psychology, obtained their qualifications with distinction. The sisters achieved a total of 37 distinctions in their modules throughout their undergraduate degrees, with Nthatisi acquiring 17 and Nthati acquiring 20.  

“My twin and I are very proud of ourselves for sharing this great moment together. We have achieved great things together since primary school, but this is by far the best achievement,” expressed Nthatisi. “It was amazing; no words can describe how happy we were when we found out that we were graduating with distinction. It has been a dream of ours since first-year to both graduate cum laude and I was grateful to see it come true,’’ said Nthatisi.

Challenges experienced along the way
The twins argue that the journey towards acquiring their remarkable results has not been an easy one, as they came across a number of challenges. “Having more than one test and long assignments in the same week was a challenging experience for us, especially because I would get a headache if I was not sleeping enough,” stated Nthati. In addition, imposter syndrome was also an experience which they were not immune to throughout their journey. “There were days when I didn’t believe in myself and this made me postpone studying for some tests,” expressed Nthatisi. However, they always found comfort and strength in the support they had in one another. “Encouraging each other has always been of help to us whenever things got tough. I always support my sister by reminding her of who she is and of her capabilities, and she did the same for me,’’ said Nthati. Furthermore, they both agree that a mutual challenge was attempting to complete their work through online learning, which required a lot of determination and persistence to succeed.

The support of friends and family
They attribute their success to God, family, and friends. In fact, Nthati argues that the support of their loved ones has been instrumental in not only their success, but in shaping the people they have become. Consequently, their family and friends were overjoyed by their most recent achievements. “It means a lot to us and our family, because excelling academically has always been important to us,” Nthati expressed.

Advice to others who want to excel academically
In light of their achievements, Nthati encourages other students who are on their journey towards obtaining their qualifications to first master the art of application. As such, students should always see tests and exams as a means to apply what they have learnt, so that they can achieve good results but also grow in knowledge. While Nthatisi highlights that one should “study hard from your first year in order to achieve great results, and do not give up when tough days come – because they will come –it’s very important to constantly remind yourself of the goal you want to achieve as you study”.