More than 140 students and sports teams walked away with trophies and certificates at this year’s Residence Academic Giants and Sports Awards which was held at the Bellville Campus.

Organized by the Department of Student Life and Residence Services, the awards recognize residence students who excelled academically and in sports in 2013.

Food Technology Masters student, Yvonne Maphosa, won the first prize in the Academic Giants category and walked away with a cash prize, a trophy and a certificate.

Precept Madoro (Human Resources), Anthony Ezeonwuka (Internal Auditing) and Simone Smith (Health Sciences) came second, third and fourth respectively.

South Point NMJ Residence soccer team walked away with a big trophy and gold medals for winning the Mini-Olympics Tournament, while Mathew Goniwe Residence received similar honours for their efforts in winning the Easter Tournament.

Elizabeth Women Residence (EWR) received similar honours for beating City Edge, which walked away with silver medals and a trophy during the Easter Tournament.

Richard Sacco was also rewarded for their efforts after beating EWR during the Mini-Olympics Tournament.

Vice-Chancellor, Dr Prins Nevhutalu, congratulated the winners for their hard work.

He said that employers hire candidates who excelled as students.

Dean of Education and Social sciences, Prof Thobeka Mda, says she admires winners as they motivate her to do well.

“Today we celebrate for the right reasons. Your celebrity status is well-deserved and cannot be taken away from you,” said Mda.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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If you are determined that the direction of your travel is going to be upwards there will be no limit to what you can achieve.

This was the message to graduates from Prof Jimmy Volmink, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University, who was the guest speaker at a graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences.

He encouraged graduates to learn to reach beyond self-interest.

“In the 21^st century we find ourselves in a world which is becoming more and more selfish, polarised, hateful and fearful. If we are to survive we will need to find a way to reconnect with our humanity. What the world desperately needs today is more compassion,” said Volmink.

“I want to challenge you today as health and wellness professionals to find a way to show compassion and demonstrate solidarity towards your patients, clients, colleagues and society in general. Let us work together to overcome the shortcomings that we see around us and in the health system in particular and show leadership as makers of change.”

An emotional Simone Smith was the Dean’s Medal recipient in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences.

Smith, who graduated with a BHSC in Medical Laboratory Sciences obtained distinctions in 17 of her 20 subjects and achieved a final aggregate of 81 percent over the years of her study.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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