Ms Thalia Naidoo never intended to study Chemistry at tertiary level, imagining herself rather becoming a veterinarian or biological scientist. However, circumstances led her to enroll for a BSc in Applied Chemistry on UKZN’s Westville campus and she has never looked back!
At the annual College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science student awards ceremony, Naidoo won the PerkinElmer Lucas Trophy for the best overall student in Chemistry on the Westville campus.
‘After the first year I began to enjoy chemistry and couldn’t picture myself doing a different degree,’ said Naidoo. ‘Experiences in the chemistry laboratories and lectures very quickly won me over.’
Naidoo described her degree as challenging, involving long hours, hard work, tears and frustrations but the end result was personal development and growth, a sense of accomplishment and advanced time management. ‘Studying an Applied Chemistry degree has enabled me to deal with the goal driven expectations of industry and organisations in the real world,’ said Naidoo.
‘It was difficult to offer Thalia solid advice on the theoretical or practical expectations of her degree,’ said her mother, Mrs Vijay Naidoo. ‘With both her father and I working in demanding, goal-driven environments, however, we could communicate to her the different business strategies that would benefit her, especially seeing that the transition from high school to university can be very daunting for learners.’
Her father, Mr Ravi Naidoo, said: ‘As parents we had to motivate Thalia and coach her on many facets of coping with university life and the associated challenges this could bring. Our coaching sometimes involved change management techniques and dealing with change in life.’
‘Thalia was always an exceptional student,’ said her lecturer in the School of Chemistry and Physics, Professor Neil Koorbanally. ‘Over the years, I watched her grow as a scientist. Her confidence and intellectual ability makes her an invaluable asset to any organisation. She has the potential to be one of South Africa’s future leaders and the makings of a great scientist. It is a privilege to have been one of her professors.’
Another one of her lecturers, Dr Abdul Mahomed, agreed: ‘Many educators will say that they do not have favourites, but the truth is that there are some students who possess characteristics that make them stand out in a crowd. Thalia is indeed one of those. When she got a perfect score for my test that many failed, I knew immediately that she was of a certain calibre.’
‘Thalia is an excellent problem solver and is self-motivated,’ said Mahomed. ‘She is someone who has a great aptitude for work, has a good work ethic and is respectful and helpful to others. She was an absolute pleasure to teach.’
Naidoo is currently studying for an Honours degree in Chemistry.
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