Off they were! Hundreds of SWGC graduates gathered at the Walter Sisulu square of dedication in Kliptown, Soweto, to celebrate the completion of their programmes and bid farewell to the College—that probably has been a huge part of their lives for the past 3 years or so. Accompanied by their proud parents, siblings, aunts and uncles the mood of the day was a clear Jubilation!
With such amazement and awe parents and guestsbeamed with pride,gazed at the successful graduatesascendingthe stage with their regalia of honour. The academic procession itself was one of the highlights of the day, having all the splendor and majesty that is properly associated with such a happy occasion as this. Each member of the procession wasdressed in a manner that made them look the part, with the SRC president and the deputyarmed in the South African and College flags, leading the procession which began with chairperson of the council, MsPN Tsokolibane and the principal of the College Mr D Nkosi, followed by the deputy principals and campus and unit Management in ascending order.Truly, everythingincluding the set-up was done the SWGC traditional way! Declaring the ceremony constituted was the chairperson of the College council -openingwhat was to become a memorable event.
“Youth day came early for SWGC” declared the College principal in his opening speech, he then went on to emphasize how graduates should brag about being the product of this massive college and that they should also be proud of their counterparts who went to Holland for a fully sponsoredtrip, in honour of their good performance. It has become increasingly popular to invite guest speakers to graduation ceremonies to add value to the level of education and thinking that the graduates already possess and in this case it was the great Bill Gibson, Chairman and Founder of Knowledge Brokers International, a leading company in training and skills development, who was invited to motivate the family of SWGC.Mr Gibsonis a regular contributor to many business magazines such as Succeed Magazine (small business) and Sales Guru Magazine, he has also mentored Business Gurus such asSiyabongaMapoko, Director of “iCaptive” and author of “CONVERSATIONS with JSE AltX entrepreneurs”.Also inspiring was his story on how he met former President andStatesman, Nelson Mandela and how he convinced him to get South African citizenship to help improve the state of our country – ‘what a lucky man you are Bill!’
Following the inspiring talks, was the issuing out of qualifications, beginning with the National Curriculum (Vocational) which were soon then followed by the Report 191(Diplomas) graduates. The show was not yet over as the Deputy Principal for Academic Affairs, Mr Monyamane stepped forward to the podium to welcome on stage the VictrixAcademic Laudorum Awardswhich is presented to an internal member of the College staff who contributed service-above-self to the College and this was none other than thehumble and astoundingMsSibongileMakhasa of Technisa who received her award to a loud cheer from her colleagues, they were all in a jubilant mood as they felt that this award compensated for the overall 2013 results of the campus. Soon thereafter a proud moment was given to the Rain Maker Awardrecipient which was the self-driven Gladys Siyothula of the Ethembeni drop-in center in Dobsonville, Soweto.
“We are blessed by your presence and we thank you all for being here!” exclaimed the Campus Manager of Roodepoort MsFiaCoertze who took the opportunity to thank everyone who took their timeto attend the SWGC graduation. It was indeed a great send off as the College Choir came on stage to give a melodious farewell to all present!
Patience Zazini
Head of Marketing and Communications
