She had to overcome several hurdles before graduation, but Tamryn Christians’ perseverance paid off.

She is among the Faculty of Informatics and Design graduates and is celebrating her journalism qualification.

Tamryn, who grew up in Mitchells Plain, said her matric year was particularly hard as her family was evicted from their home.

She ended up living with teachers.

In 2015, she applied to study journalism and was placed on the waiting list.

“I worked at retail stores to help my mom financially during this period. I applied to study journalism again for 2016 and got in.”

She passed her first year of studies but struggled in her second year.  

“We were struggling again. For the majority of the time, there was no income. We moved around quite often, but attending church grounded my faith.”

She started an internship at Independent Media.

“The pressure was mounting, and I failed one of my subjects. I returned the following year, and by then, I had secured a contract job at a sister company of Independent Media (African News Agency). The team there did their best to support me on my journey, but the pressure was too much. I dropped out. I felt so defeated. I thought graduating or obtaining any qualification was just not for me.”

However, a year later, she realised she needed to return to her studies.

“A family member offered me a place to live because I was homeless. No place to go. I did my second year in 2020 again and passed.”

Tamryn completed her third year last year.

“A lot has happened these past six years. It took me double the years to graduate, but I did it. I have come a long way; finally, my perseverance has paid off. I want to encourage everyone on the brink of giving up to keep pushing. You may think something is not for you when it doesn't happen when you expected it. But it will happen if it is destined to. Don't become distracted by what everyone else is achieving around you. You have your God-ordained timeline. Focus on yourself and where you need to be. Pray about it, consult with God. “

Tamryn now works as a freelance videographer and photographer and does Public Relations work for a political party.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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Well-known TV and radio presenter Tracey Lange spoke during the Media Department’s first lunchtime talk for 2022.

The bubbly Kfm and Tussen Ons presenter spoke about how she has used language as a resource to connect with audiences on radio and TV throughout her career.

She is known for her ability to communicate with her audiences in both English and Afrikaans.

Journalism lecturer Sisanda Nkoala said the main objective of this year’s series was to get journalism students and anyone interested in the role of journalism in society to hear from professionals in the space “and then deliberate on the centrality of news media in how we live our lives”

“The advent of social media and the development of phenomena such as disinformation has raised questions on the place of news media, given that nowadays ‘anyone’ can create and share content online. The speakers in this series will talk about their journeys as media professionals and reflect more deeply on their views on why the craft of journalism is still important, perhaps now more than ever.”

Nkoala said last year’s speaker series had been exceptionally well received.

“The series was opened up to anyone to attend, and we had requests from other journalism education entities for requests to share some of the sessions. More importantly, our students were able to network virtually with media professionals and use that opportunity as a means of getting mentored. The speakers themselves were extremely impressed with the engagements.”

During the online talk, Lange shared with students how she started her career at a law firm and got into a broadcasting career by chance.

She started helping at a community radio station in Somerset West and said, “The doors opened up from there”.

Her first paying job on the radio was at Good Hope FM, where she initially read the news on weekends.

“Within four months, they offered me a weekday position and a drivetime position because it was only for breakfast and drive time newsreaders who read English and Afrikaans.”

“I put in the work, and people started realising that I could easily do English and Afrikaans and switch between them quite comfortably. And now it’s something that people know me for.”

Lange told students that much of what she had achieved has been because she took the initiative to make the calls and send the emails and encouraged students to “open themselves up to just about any opportunity”.

Written by Ilse Fredericks

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