Born in Amandawe in the South Coast of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, Thobile Shozi graduated for her Master’s degree in Management Sciences-Marketing. Shozi (40) walked proudly on the Durban University of Technology (DUT) graduation podium at the Olive Convention Centre during the afternoon session on 18 September 2023.

It has been a stressful but also an awarding journey for Shozi. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, she thought a lot about what she wanted and where she wanted to be in the future. The pandemic led her to the decision of continuing her studies. Shozi ecstatically said, “When I received that acceptance letter from DUT in December 2020, it felt like my whole world had finally opened up. That was the beginning of my new journey back to an institution that has built and made me the person I am today. The endless reading, making notes and writing almost had me giving up on the proposal stages, but I thank God I had an amazing supervisor who kept on pushing me when I wanted to give up,” she said.

When Shozi started her journey in 2021 she never thought even in her wildest dreams that this was possible for her to achieve. Her master’s degree meant everything to her and she hoped it would open more career opportunities for her. Failing was not an option for Shozi as she is a person that her younger siblings looked up to. She had to commit all of her time to her studies and kept on telling herself that she cannot fail. Being disciplined is what led her to perform very well in her studies.

Her family were her biggest supporters during her studying journey and they were super excited and are still in disbelief that she made it with Cum Laude. This was Shozi’s choice of study as she saw it fit perfectly with her career path and the  vision she had for herself in the future. She plans to study further because she sees herself wearing a red gown to become a doctoral graduate.

Shozi aims to also grow within the organisation she works at, utilise and share the knowledge that she has acquired while doing her master’s degree. She is currently working at Heineken Beverages SA.

Shozi expressed her gratitude for being given an opportunity to share her story and said it was a humbling experience. “If you are socially active then this study is for you,” advised Shozi to first year students who are embarking to study marketing.

Pictured: Thobile Shozi on her graduation day.