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22 September 2021
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Story Michelle Nöthling
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Photo Supplied
Annemarie Le Roux.
“I love working with children.” This is one of the first things Annemarie le Roux mentions when asked to describe herself. This love for children propelled Annemarie into the field of education and she graduated in 2006 with a BEd in Foundation Phase at the UFS. Annemarie immediately immersed herself in the Deaf community, enriching the lives of children at the Thiboloha School for the Deaf in Qwaqwa and the De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester.
The academic world enticed Annemarie back to the University of the Free State (UFS) and she was appointed as a junior lecturer in the Department of South African Sign Language (SASL) and Deaf Studies in 2013. Going from strength to strength, Annemarie completed her master’s degree in SASL in 2019, and published an
article earlier this year that she co-wrote with Marga Stander. In this article, they found that SASL “has become an increasingly popular language that hearing university students want to learn as a second language” and subsequently explored different teaching methods used for this emerging group of interested students.
Although now firmly established in academia, Annemarie is still committed to the practical application of SASL. “I am closely involved in student and community engagement through the
SIGNALS Sign Language student association that helps empower the Deaf community and South African Sign Language.” She also interprets for the Deaf community whenever she gets an opportunity, as well as for Deaf students in class and meetings.
On the importance of Sign Language and the recognition of the Deaf community in South Africa, Annemarie believes it will open greater opportunities for development. “More people will be able to learn SASL, and it might even become a subject in school for hearing children.”
Graduates bloom at 2014 Spring Graduation Ceremony
2014-09-12
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On Thursday, 18 September 2014, our university celebrated the 2014 Spring Graduation Ceremony. A total of 727 diplomas and certificates were conferred to graduates from all seven of our faculties.
Well-known satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys was the guest speaker at both ceremonies on the day. “A person seldom gets the job he or she wants,” Uys said. “The secret is rather to become the job you want to have.”
He referred to comic examples from the South African history in order to describe to graduates that the power is in each and every South African to contribute to a good democracy.
“In a good democracy, the people lead and the government follows. Go out and lead.”
The Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Health Sciences and Natural and Agricultural Sciences conferred their degrees at a morning ceremony, followed by a later afternoon ceremony for the Faculties of the Humanities, Education (CE, NPDE and ACE excluded), Law and Theology degrees.
The following amount of diplomas and certificates, up to and including honours degrees, were conferred during the graduation day:
- Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences: 167
- Faculty of Health Sciences: 119
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences: 155
- Faculty of the Humanities: 185
- Faculty of Education: 66
- Faculty of Law: 29
- Faculty of Theology: 6