Delays to degree: loss, debt, and determination

In 2019, Lwazi Thobani began studying civil engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT). “I was young, hopeful, and determined to graduate by 2022. But life hit hard and kept hitting.”

The choice to study engineering was inspired by a cousin who he had stayed with while in Gauteng during his early years of school. Born in Centane in the Eastern Cape, Lwazi was given the basics of mathematics and science by the relative who is now in the Philippines.

He left Gauteng in 2016, returned to the Eastern Cape, and subsequently completed high school. “Still then, I wasn’t sure which path I wanted to take, and again a conversation with my cousin pushed me towards civil engineering, which I enrolled for at UCT,” said Lwazi. By his own admission, he was cruising nicely and on course to complete his degree on time.

His first impressions of UCT were “the people were cool, and the exposure was different: speaking English all the time, the swag was different, as were the mannerisms and mindsets”. However, his final year – 2021 – set in motion a series of events which altered his course.

“I was grieving and still expected to show up and perform like nothing happened. I couldn’t.”

“Towards the end of 2020, my father fell ill and sought medical treatment in Cape Town, but doctors couldn’t find the problem.” Lwazi revealed that the hospitalisations happened well into 2021 until he unfortunately passed. “It was October 2021. That moment broke me. I tried to stay focused, but emotionally, I wasn’t okay. I was grieving and still expected to show up and perform like nothing happened. I couldn’t.”

He continued: “There were many moving parts [at the time] – loss, exam season and academic stress. Processing the loss only became real when I returned home at the end of the academic year in December. We were a family in mourning. We could feel the void he felt.”

Isolation, financial pressure

“My father, my biggest cheerleader, was a bricklayer and he was happy I was doing engineering because he’d always say, ‘Lwazi, someday you will work with me on a project’. With his loss, I needed a new anchor. [The year] 2022 was meant to be my final year, but I’d go to lectures, listen, return to my residence, study my notes, but nothing seemed to be registering. So, I stopped studying altogether.

“I relied on the Student Wellness Service (SWS) a lot in 2022 and even then, I wasn’t consistent [in my attendance] because I didn’t like speaking about my feelings. One of my biggest weaknesses is that I want to see change now and I wanted to feel the impact immediately.”

“I had to take time off, and that meant delaying my thesis and design projects. I returned, only to be knocked down again. Between 2023 and 2024, I lost more family members. The pain compounded. At times, I felt like giving up completely. I was dealing with depression, isolation and financial pressure. I didn’t know how I was going to finish, or if I ever would.”

In 2024, Lwazi decided to rekindle his academic journey. “If life wasn’t going to ease up, I was going to toughen up. I came back and I pushed through. I resubmitted my work, retook the steps I had once abandoned, and gave it everything I had left,” he recalled.

“This degree isn’t just paper – it is pain, persistence, prayer, and pride. I was delayed, but I was never denied.”

Then came the final barrier: over R160 000 in student debt. He couldn’t graduate or access his academic record without paying it. A couple of interventions then came to pass: “R60 000 covered by a bursary from my company (Franki Africa) and R75 000 paid through a bank loan I applied for after my second salary. Still, there was about R31 000 short. That’s when I reached out to the Siyandisa Trust Foundation, and they stepped in with R28 000. I covered the rest.”

On Monday, 8 September, he could graduate in the presence of his family, friends and mentors, obtaining his civil engineering qualification. “This degree isn’t just paper – it is pain, persistence, prayer, and pride. I was delayed, but I was never denied.”