When Katherine Graham walked across the graduation stage at the University of the Free State (UFS) on Tuesday 8 April 2025, she was not just receiving a degree, she was closing one chapter and opening another. 

As the only student in the Master of Development Studies programme to graduate with distinction, her achievement was already remarkable. But Graham’s story stretches far beyond the walls of academia, weaving through years of writing, resilience, and storytelling – both in real life and on the page.

A new chapter, a quiet triumph

Graham received her degree from the UFS Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and stood out as the only student in her Master of Development Studies programme to earn the degree with distinction.

But the distinction is not the only reason her name is turning heads. Graham, a journalist by training who has written for several South African magazines, is also a published author whose 2023 children’s book, Reën vir Stofvlei, is receiving praise from readers across the country. While her academic research focuses on sustainability, her creative world is built on storytelling, and somehow she has managed to bridge the two.

“To be honest, I’m just so grateful that I managed to finish,” she says about her master’s studies. “But I am hoping that this achievement will be a springboard in my career. I’d really like to transition from writing and editing, which I’ve been doing for the past 20 years, into research, particularly in sustainability, which is my great passion.”

Finding strength in the struggle

Her path to graduation was not always smooth. “There were many, many moments when I thought, ‘I can’t do this. This is too hard. I need more than two years to finish this.’ And then when I was struggling to get my ethics approval, I really got discouraged.” A turning point came from a moment at home. “One day my eldest son, Samuel, said to me, ‘Mom, I really think you can do this.’ And so, with a bit of faith and lots of prayers and hard work, I managed to carry on.”

Towards the end of writing her thesis, she found unexpected encouragement in the story of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. “The endurance that he displayed helped me to keep going.”

A storyteller at heart

In parallel with her studies, Graham continued to write creatively. “I’m a very curious person by nature. I love finding out people’s stories and what inspires them. Journalism is just a formalised version of being a storyteller. When my boys were younger, I realised I needed to tell my own creative stories, not just articles I was commissioned to write. So, that’s when I began to write children’s books.”

Her most recent novel, Reën vir Stofvlei, was based on her aunt’s life in Boesmanland in the Northern Cape in the 1940s. “The story is about overcoming hardship and finding strength in the midst of a crippling drought,” she explained. “Just to clarify, I wrote the book in English and Elsa Silke translated it. She did it so well, in idiomatic Afrikaans, that you can barely tell that the book was translated.”

Discipline, pace, and the art of balance

Balancing creative work and postgraduate study required discipline and plenty of early mornings. “Start early! Don’t leave things till the last minute. Just like an elephant cannot be eaten in one bite, you need to pace yourself to get to the finish line. Keep chipping away at your workload and you will gradually get on top of it,” she advises.

With her master’s degree now complete, Graham already has her eye on what is next. “I don’t think my husband is quite ready for me to do my PhD yet, although that probably is the next logical step. I’d like to move into sustainability research and yes – if more books come along, that would also be wonderful!”

She is currently waiting for the outcome of a funding proposal for a biography she hopes to publish. “I’ve put in a funding proposal for a biography on the Coloured artist Peter Clarke – who was forcibly removed from his home in Simon’s Town in the 1960s – so I am really hoping I get the grant and I am able to publish the book, which has been about five years in the making.”

Words for the next storyteller

To students trying to find balance between creative passions and academic goals, she offers some practical advice: “Get your degree, find meaningful work, and do your creative pursuits in your free time. I think there is a danger when you try to earn a living from the arts. Rather have the financial stability of dependable work and let your artistic passion be kept alive on the sidelines.”

And if her life so far were the plot of a novel?