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Mathematics students bag top graduation awards

21 April 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs

Walena and Elize — Walena Marambakuyana and Elize Swartz.

Her love of numbers and analysing data – to such an extent that she, just for the fun of it, did university Mathematics in her spare time in Grade 10. This not only resulted in an A for Maths in matric, but also contributed to Walena Anesu Marambakuyana’s success during her postgraduate studies, as she was announced the best honours student in her year group in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

Solutions to Africa’s challenges

For this prestigious achievement, she was presented the Dean’s Medal, which she collected during the faculty’s graduation ceremony on 21 April 2022. “I can't begin to say how much this means to me. I think of the struggles that I've faced, and it just proves to me that anything is possible if you set your mind to it,” says Walena, who believes this achievement will also motivate her little sisters to aim higher in life.

Walena, who completed her undergraduate studies in Actuarial and Financial Mathematics at the University of Pretoria, continued with her honour’s degree in Risk Analysis at the UFS.

“Thinking back, it was always clear that I would take this route. Throughout primary school and high school, the Math teachers particularly liked me. I think it was because they saw that I really enjoyed Mathematics. I also remember that at the tender age of seven, my dad's colleagues would call me a mathematician,” recounts Walena.

She, like her aunt and role model, Dr C Gandidzanwa, is working towards obtaining a PhD. Currently, Walena is enrolled for the master’s degree in Risk Analysis at the UFS. “In my view, a PhD would enable me to contribute to innovative ideas that will provide solutions to the various challenges we are facing in Africa and the world at large. I specifically would like to inspire younger generations coming after us to safeguard against risks by anticipating, assessing, and taking the necessary steps to mitigate against risks,” she says.

“I believe risk assessment and mitigation not only contribute to my day-to-day activities; it also affects bigger global challenges such as climate change. Through my studies, I have a clear picture of what can be done to mitigate these risks. However, the challenge is always to ensure that this filters to practical action,” says Walena.

This is where I belong

Receiving the Dean’s Medal for the best marks in the group of master’s students in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), was another mathematician, Elize Swartz. “Receiving the Dean's Medal is a great honour for me. It reminds me that hard work pays off and it encourages me to continue with my studies.”

She completed her honours degree, majoring in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, in 2019 and her master’s degree in Mathematics in 2021. For both, her mini thesis was in the field of graph theory.

Currently a lecturer in the UFS Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, she is looking forward to starting with her PhD later this year. Elize, who already knew in primary school that she wanted to be a teacher, is hoping to one day be a full-time lecturer at the UFS. “My passion is to work with young people. I hope to make a difference in their lives by teaching, sharing my knowledge, and helping them in such a way that they experience the love of Jesus Christ,” she says.

She continues: “I cherish the instances when my lecturers gave me advice, encouraged me, and recognised my hard work. I want to share and continue that positive experience with other people and students by teaching them to work hard and be responsible, while treating them with kindness, patience, and love.”

Her favourite part of studying was the moment when she did homework and assignment problems and everything just started to fall into place. “For me, Maths problems are almost like a little game or puzzle. I also enjoyed receiving my marks after each assignment, test, or exam, knowing that this was the result of all my hard work,” says Elize, who also enjoys campus life, especially after the lockdown, “walking on campus – feeling safe, at home, and the sense of knowing this is where I belong”.

News Archive

Address by the first Inaugural President of the Central SRC

2005-08-03

The UFS Central SRC

Address by the first Inaugural President of the Central SRC of the University of the Free State, Mr Tello Motloung on Wednesday 3 August 2003

The Chairperson of the UFS Council, Judge Faan Hancke,
The Vice-chancellor and Rector of the UFS, Prof Frederick Fourie
The Vice-Rector Student Affairs of the UFS, Dr Ezekiel Moraka
The Presidents of the main campus SRC and the Vista campus SRC
Colleagues in the Central SRC, campus SRCs, students and fellow South Africans

Please receive my heartfelt revolutionary greetings

Vice-chancellor and rector what I bring here with me assisted by facts, is just the work of my imagination. Like a love letter addressed to a sweetheart miles away, even though you do not know how she feels, what she wants to hear, and do not even know what she looks like.

I value speech as just an honest intimation, that’s why I got into a habit of establishing a dialogue with people, looking at each other’s face, and persuading one another of what we are saying.

Vice-chancellor, today marks an important milestone in the history of the existence of the UFS. Today reflects the confidence and trust that students of the UFS have placed in us. They are confident that the Central SRC has both the will and the capacity to take our university forward as we confront the challenge of transformation.

Students are confident that they are correct to trust the Central SRC as the principal agent of change in our university that is genuinely committed to the objective of building a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic university. We need to frankly ask ourselves, as CSRC members, whether are we up to all these challenges?

All Central SRC members have to understand this fully, internalize it, and ensure that everything we do, does not betray the confidence and trust of students, or disappoint their expectations. I say this knowing that all Central SRC members have committed themselves to serve the students of the UFS, black and white, and no one among us (CSRC) needs any special lectures about this central commitment.

The UFS should be an omnibus, welcoming everybody on board. But we should be a bus with a clear direction. We will certainly lose our way if we, as an institution, don’t have a clear road map spelling out where we are heading to.

There should be clear guidelines on the role of students in the transformation process. Students should also be viewed as role players in transformation along with the University management, and not just opposing forces. There is no right time, other than this one, to move away from the politics of opposition to politics of transformation.

However, we need the support of management to do so. The University should value the role and contribution of student leaders, hear our legitimate claims and consider them as part of political and policy decision making.

Vice-chancellor and Rector, it remains our task to ensure that the UFS is transformed into an institution that is seen to be playing a vigilant role in developing students academically, intellectually, socially, culturally, politically and otherwise. The process of transformation is not ending tonight, it is just beginning tonight.

Judge Hancke, Prof Fourie, Dr Moraka, fellow students and fellow South Africans, I lead students at this university with a sense of pride and duty, and I know very well that I lead men and women, students who are all determined that we reach our destination safely and on time.

A navy divided within its ranks will be destroyed and vanquished by the enemy, but the navy united in purpose and action, loyalty and commitment will not sink but sail on to victory.

It is befitting to mention that every drop of my blood is telling me that the UFS is my home. I firstly became a student here, I became the SRC treasurer in my first year here, I became the deputy president here, and I became the first president of the Central SRC of the UFS.

Therefore you should never doubt my commitment towards the transformation of this university. To paraphrase what was said by students at another institution, “If there is no UFS in heaven, then I am not going.”

Let me conclude by thanking my ancestors for teaching me that even if I wined and dined with kings and queens, I am not a king myself, so I should not turn my back on people who made me what I am today.

Most importantly, I would like to thank the Almighty God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for giving me time and power to lead this university.

It will be theoretically irresponsible if I ended my speech without indicating that “Only a Kovsie knows the feeling”.

I thank you.

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