Two TSIBA Business School students were honoured at its graduation ceremony, with a special award and prize money for their academic achievements.
The annual graduation ceremony took place last month at the TSIBA campus in Woodstock.
The Graham Lashbrooke Prize, which is awarded to the graduate who achieved academic excellence in the subjects of entrepreneurship and leadership, went to Mandilakhe Lungile along with a R10 000 cash prize.
Siphumelele Koyana received the inaugural Professor Fatima Abrahams Award – presented annually to an academically strong female graduate – and a R10 000 cash prize.
After completing his matric in 2015, Mandilakhe, from Khayelitsha, studied computer science at UWC but decided to drop out. After taking a gap year, he heard about TSIBA and decided to apply and received a full three-year scholarship.
“I was always passionate about business and entrepreneurship and even sold various products in high school. While I was good at science, I was always scared of accounting but I overcame that fear and decided to apply at TSIBA,” he said.
Mandilakhe is doing his Honours at TSIBA and hopes to open a business one day.
Siphumelele, from Gugulethu, said the award motivated her to continue pushing.
“I felt really blessed and grateful. I have worked really hard and consistently. Not just during the last three years but my whole schooling life has been centred around working consistently hard and being determined.”
Siphumelele is working as a junior trainee accountant but plans to do her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) level 1 next year or her Honours to help her become a financial analyst.
TSIBA Business School is an accredited not-for-profit higher education institution that offers undergraduate and postgraduate business qualifications.