Numerous Awards for Top BSc Graduate

BY: .

Ms Kimberleigh Govender graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Chemistry - one of a handful of students within the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science to do so. 

Govender won three awards at the College’s annual awards ceremony for top performing students and was also the recipient of UKZN’s 100th Anniversary Scholarship and the College Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship, awarded for being in the top three academically performing undergraduate students in the entire university and in the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science respectively.

A summa cum laude degree pass requires an 80% or above aggregate in all modules throughout the course of a degree.

Govender chose to study at UKZN as it was the only university offering the Applied Chemistry programme, which was what she was interested in.  ‘Also, UKZN is one of the best universities in the country, especially in terms of research, and I wanted to be a part of that,’ she said.

Speaking about her UKZN experience, Govender said:  ‘I have thoroughly enjoyed the diversity at the campus, the way in which culture is promoted through various programmes, the involvement and interactions of the lecturers with the students, and the various facilities in terms of sport and recreation made available to students.’ 

Govender also enjoyed the fact that the University offered peer assisted learning and tutors, which she had found to be a great help.

Govender chose to study for a BSc in Applied Chemistry as she had always been interested in analytical chemistry.  ‘My main interest is forensics. I also have an interest in the industrial world thus I found that Applied Chemistry best suited all of my interests,’ she said.

‘The most interesting research or experiments for me were those of the analytical kind,’ said Govender. ‘One of the projects involved a complete analysis of the swimming pools on the Westville campus and a public pool off campus. I found this particularly interesting as it allowed me to see how the chemistry concepts learned can be applied to real life problems.’

She is currently enrolled for a BSc Honours degree in Chemistry, after which she wants to specialise in forensics.  

‘It is very humbling to have graduated summa cum laude,’ said Govender, who thanked her parents for their support and guidance. ‘They encouraged me and always motivated me to do the best I could do and because of them I was able to achieve all that I have.’

In her spare time, Govender reads, plays the piano or simply catches up on some of her favorite TV programmes. She is also fond of arts and crafts.

‘I would like to thank God firstly but I would also like to express my gratitude to all those that I know as they have influenced, motivated and encouraged me throughout my studies,’ said Govender. ‘I would also like to thank UKZN for supporting me financially through bursaries, which further motivated me to achieve.’

Sally Frost