Award Winning Student Honours Late Father by Becoming a Proud Graduate
- A young student recently spoke about how he made his late father super proud after finally graduating
- According to an interview, his dad had always wanted to see him scoop up his degree and now he finally has
- The young student has also won a number of awards which are sure to make his dad smile
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Mandilakhe Valela recently became a graduate from Rhodes University and while this was a proud moment for him indeed, what made it extra special was the fact that he had finally honoured his late dad who had always dreamed of watching his son walk across a stage as a graduate.
Source: UGC
Valela, unfortunately, lost his dad Mlamli Valela to Covid-19 in 2020 just after he had started writing his exams. Naturally, the loss of his dad came as a huge shock, but Mandilakhe soldiered on with the goal of making his father proud in mind.
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In an interview with Rhodes University, Mandilakhe describes his dad as a supportive educationalist who had had his back since he first started his journey as a student.
The firm support system became evident in his life as he soon became the recipient of many awards prior to becoming a proud graduate. Mandilakhe received awards for Investec Top 100 Community Engagement awards, the Student Volunteer of the Year Award at the Community Engagement Awards, the Registrars Award for Long Service, all of which he has dedicated to the Valela family legacy.
In other heartwarming Briefly News, Aviwe Mado from eMahemini village in the Eastern Cape recently became a University of Pretoria graduate and this is something he is very proud about. The young BSocSci degree in Industrial Sociology and Labour Studies student lost his eyesight when he was only 16 years old after he was born with glaucoma.
His disability did not however stop him from obtaining a degree and moving closer to his dream of working inside the Constitutional Court, inspiring others, which he says he hopes to be doing in the next 5 years.
“Getting a degree from UP has set me apart from other graduates,” he says. “The fact that I live with a disability but managed to get a degree is a win for me. It is also motivation for people in my village that they too can achieve their goals.”
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Source: Briefly News
