When I submitted my thesis on the 11th of November 2013 and finished my honours degree on the 27th, I thought I was done with Tuks and left campus with a smile and a sense of accomplishment. Having spent six years there, completing my undergrad and honours, I was ready to dive right into to my position as an account executive at Flow PR.
My thesis partner, Lara de Stadler, and I had given all we could during 2013, working flat out the whole year, surviving the rollercoaster that was our postgrad and submitting a thesis of which we were incredibly proud.
By the 28th of January, we were both settled in our bustling jobs, the year had kicked off with a bang and varsity felt like a distant memory. So it was a happy surprise when an email popped up in my inbox titled “Guess what??”. It was my study leader, Dr Lizelle Van der Walt, telling us “goal achieved”: Lara and I had maintained the highest average over the year, had received the highest marks for our thesis and thus had the best thesis overall in our honours class. We had “won the prize” and had not only achieved a cum laude grade for our degrees, but were also number 1 and number 2 in the class.
Owing a huge debt of gratitude for our success to our study leader, Dr Van der Walt, and her knowledge, guidance and support throughout the year, we jumped at the opportunity when she asked us to return to Tuks to guest lecture this year’s honours group. As somewhat of a tradition at Tuks, honours learners from the previous year stop by around February to impart their two cents of wisdom to the new group, sharing lessons learned and challenges faced. I was eager to share some of the ups and downs that Lara and I had experienced – memories I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Having worked side-by-side with Dr Van der Walt for the year, she bore witness to the inner workings of our minds, work ethic and drive. We were asked to touch on such topics as ‘where it all began’ and how we approached the year. We also discussed the fact that we were not the top achievers in our undergraduate class, yet managed to come out on top of our honours class, and how we found and nurtured the passion and determination needed to excel.
The most fun for me was delving into ‘what went wrong academically’ and ‘what went wrong personally’. Often students forget that, yes, they are expected to be dedicated and to put their studies first, but that they are also human – life happens. Our list of life events that we survived throughout the year included (but was not limited to): death, breakups, illness, moving from Pretoria to Johannesburg and one or two small car accidents. We also shared our secrets for staying sane through it all, showcasing the madness within our minds, from Lara doing jumping jacks at 3am, to ‘bitstrips’ depicting levels of exhaustion and our odd sense of humour, and the Disney playlist we created on Youtube that only we would appreciate.
The opportunity to lecture the honours class of 2014 was, for us both, a chance not only to thank Dr Van der Walt, but also to give back to Tuks’ BCom Communication Management division. My goal was to prepare (not scare) this year’s students. We may have given them somewhat of a shock, but the aim was to remind them that in the end it’s totally worth it. They need to know what is coming, that they will be sleep deprived and will be forced to sacrifice hobbies or social activities, but that in the process of completing their degrees they will grow, mature and develop a unique and valuable skills base.
Lara and I will receive an award for being the top achievers with the top research project at the end of April, yet I already feel rewarded for achieving a personal goal and knowing that hard work and determination will always pay off. Sharing our story and a little of our wisdom, I was reminded just how much my honours degree contributed to making me the man I am today, as well as the skills and work ethic that I am now able to apply in my job here at Flow PR.