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Friends beat the odds by achieving second degrees together

21 April 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Supplied

Their friendship began in high school, where they were constantly told by teachers that they would not make it to university, but these best friends never gave up. On Thursday 21 April 2022, they received their honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences together during the afternoon ceremony of the University of the Free State’s April Graduations.

Lerato Mbongo and Opheleleyo Qwabe, who have been friends since Grade 9, said being picked on in class for not being the brightest learners brought them together and motivated them to work harder.Mbongo obtained a Bachelor of Agriculture Honours majoring in Wildlife Management, and Qwabe received a Bachelor of Agriculture Honours majoring in Agricultural Economics.

“We’ve always dreamed big, but if you had told us back then that we would one day be two-time graduates, we wouldn’t have believed it. During one of our Maths lessons back in Grade 9, our teacher went around asking the ‘smarter’ kids what they wanted to study after matric, but when he got to us, he said there was no point in asking because we wouldn’t make it that far anyway,” Qwabe said.

The friends, who both started at the university’s South Campus, said they were grateful for the UFS Preparation Programme, as it boosted both their marks and their confidence. “The programme helped us to believe in ourselves again, and also played a big role in helping us discover what we wanted to study. The courses we enrolled in really unlocked an unstoppable passion in us and helped us realise that nothing is impossible. Today, here we are celebrating 10 years of friendship, and our honours degrees. We’ve conquered once again, and we're sharing our victories together,” Mbongo said.

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SA Academy for Science and Arts honours two from the UFS

2015-04-15

From the left are: Prof Johann du Preez (UFS), Prof Barry Frey (retired Dean of the Faculty of Environmental and Health Sciences, CUT), Prof Nico Smit (NWU), Prof Leslie Brown (Unisa), Ms Alechea Engelbrecht (UFS), and Prof Jo van As (UFS).
Photo: Supplied

The SA Academy for Science and Arts has honoured Professors Jo van As and Johann du Preez from the University of the Free State, together with academics from two other universities, Prof Nico Smit (North-West University) and Prof Leslie Brown (Unisa).

The medal of honour from the SA Academy’s Faculty of Science and Technology has been awarded to the four researchers for their book, Die verhaal van lewe en die omgewing: 'n Afrika-perspektief.

In 2012, this book was published in English as The Story of Life and the Environment: an African Perspective. From the outset, the project was meant to be published also in Afrikaans, specifically to make ecology as discipline available to students and nature lovers in Afrikaans.

The book is in full colour and has over 750 colour photos and nearly 200 illustrations specially designed to explain processes and systems.

The medal is awarded for achievements in, and contributions to, the furthering and development of a particular area in the natural sciences.

The authors, who are established researchers in the natural and life sciences, make a valuable contribution in an accessible yet scientific manner. The book conveys previously difficult-to-understand concepts in an interesting way to the ordinary reader.

The award ceremony will take place on 24 June 2015 in Stellenbosch.

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