Varsity College Port Elizabeth celebrates 2020 graduation

Port Elizabeth - 'Graduation Celebrations,' – two words generally associated with the likes of formal ceremonies, graduation caps and gowns, red carpets and champagne and many.

Something very few graduates from the Class of 2019 are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaylyn Truter, The IIE?s Varsity College Port Elizabeth Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching graduate, had her very own special graduation
celebrations thanks to her housemates Tamzyn Hollis and Erin Oliphant.

Said Kaylyn: “When the news was announced that The IIE?s Varsity College graduation ceremonies were cancelled I was on my way to the store with a friend. When I told my friend, he, in turn, contacted my closest friends, and together with my housemates, they booked a venue and had the intention of recreating a graduation ceremony for me which never materialized due to the National Lockdown."

Unbeknownst to Kaylyn, her housemates continued to plan some sort of celebration, regardless of the Lockdown. On the morning of what would have been The IIE?s Varsity College Port Elizabeth graduation day (9 April), her housemates made her favorite breakfast which they brought to her whilst playing the traditional graduation ceremony soundtrack.

“For fun, I then decided to make my very own graduation cap out of cereal boxes and material lying around. My housemates made their own scroll out of a paper towel roll, and crafted a certificate, which they awarded to me. I can be extremely sentimental, and even if I had peace regarding the cancellation of our ceremony, I loved that I was still able to celebrate it in some way,” said Kaylyn.

Kaylyn, who is relieved that she has her degree as it is now time to put into practice what she learnt and observed during her four year degree is currently taking a gap year and is completing 'a year-of-your-life programme' through the church she attends - Oxygen Life
while continuing to work as a Language Consultant at KK Talkee.

“I plan to start teaching officially as of next year, depending on the state of the country, of course. I have faith that I will have the opportunity to do this some way or the other next year, regardless of the current situation. For the time being, I do not plan to study further, but the future may hold something of the sort. I will remain open to the idea,” says Kaylyn.

She encourages any students working hard to acquire their qualifications to identify exactly what it is they are working towards.

“I looked forward to my graduation ceremony, because it was a sign of completion. But, once that was no longer a possibility, I realised that it had subconsciously become something I was working towards instead of the passion I was destined for. Graduation ceremonies are wonderful, but remember that our degrees provide us opportunities for far more than momentary acknowledgement."

Image: Graduation Celebration: Kaylyn Truter (IIE Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching) with her housemates Erin Oliphant (on her left) and Tamzyn Hollis (on her right).

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