{"id":35490,"date":"2026-04-22T14:35:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T14:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/?p=35490"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:31:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:31:48","slug":"carried-by-faith-crowned-by-persistence-ms-pulane-phumos-masters-moment-at-vut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vut.ac.za\/nso\/carried-by-faith-crowned-by-persistence-ms-pulane-phumos-masters-moment-at-vut\/","title":{"rendered":"Carried by faith, crowned by persistence: Ms Pulane Phumo\u2019s master\u2019s moment at VUT"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Ms Pulane Phumo graduates with a Master of Management in Tourism Management at the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), standing out as the only master\u2019s graduate in her field during the University\u2019s 60th graduation season.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20 April 2026 | Story by: Ntebogeleng Digasu<\/strong> Picture: Sifiso Nomzaza<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 minutes read time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On 17 April, inside the Desmond Tutu Great Hall in Vanderbijlpark, a name was called, as so many are during graduation season. But for Ms Pulane Phumo, that moment carried the weight of years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not just a walk across the stage. It was the end of a journey that had tested her faith, stretched her resilience, and demanded everything she had to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduating with a Master of Management in Tourism Management from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), Ms Phumo stood as the only master\u2019s graduate in her field this season. A quiet distinction, but one that speaks volumes about the path she had to walk to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she reflects on that moment, her words are simple, yet heavy with meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful. God is good,\u201d she said softly. \u201cIt has been a very long journey. There were times when I did not think I would make it, but I was carried through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sense of being carried, through doubt, through exhaustion, through moments where the end felt distant, sits at the centre of her story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her journey did not begin with certainty. It began with a passion. A love for tourism, and a belief, however small at the time, that this was a space where she could build something meaningful for herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have always loved tourism, and I saw a future in it,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is what kept me going, even when things became difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there were difficult moments. The kind that do not always make it into stories. Long nights. Mental fatigue. The quiet pressure of expectations. The internal battles that come with pursuing something that demands consistency when everything else feels uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through it all, one thing remained constant, her support system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy parents have supported me from the beginning,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom diploma level until now. Without them, I would not be here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in this space, between personal effort and collective support, that her journey finds its true meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She often returns to the words her mother shared with her, words that stayed with her through the hardest days: Mamello e tswala katleho \u2014 patience gives birth to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ms Phumo, this was never just a saying. It became something she lived. Something she leaned on when progress felt slow, when results did not come easily, when the road ahead felt longer than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as VUT marks its 60th graduation season, her achievement finds itself woven into a larger story. A story of a university that has, for decades, shaped lives, opened doors, and created space for possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet within that broader narrative, it is the individual journeys that give it meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among hundreds of graduates, Ms Phumo\u2019s stands quietly, but firmly. Not because it seeks attention, but because it reflects something real. The discipline it takes to move from one level of study to the next. The endurance required to reach postgraduate level. The courage to continue, even when finishing feels uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being the only master\u2019s graduate in Tourism Management is not something she speaks about with pride alone, but with awareness. It reflects the demands of the field, and the level of commitment required to reach this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she looks ahead, her voice shifts, not just reflecting, but reaching forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWork hard and believe in your dreams,\u201d she said. \u201cNo matter the pressure, you will reach the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no exaggeration in her message. No grand declarations. Just a quiet certainty shaped by experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her story does not shout. It does not need to. It sits in that space where many stories live, steady, grounded, and deeply human. A reminder that success is not always loud. Sometimes, it is built slowly, patiently, through faith, through support, and through the simple decision to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this 60th generation of graduates at VUT, Ms Pulane Phumo\u2019s achievement becomes more than a qualification. It becomes a reflection of what it takes to endure, and what it means to arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catch the full experience on Flickr <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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