Ms Jacqueline Kazmaier received Stellenbosch University (SU)'s coveted Chancellor's Medal for 2017 on Thursday (7 December) at the seventh graduation ceremony of SU's December graduation.
As the highest honour bestowed on a student by the University, the Chancellor's Medal is awarded annually to a final year or postgraduate student who has excelled.
Ms Kazmaier, who hails from Namibia and now lives in Somerset West, enrolled for a BEng degree in Industrial Engineering in 2014.
She achieved the rare feat of passing all of her modules with distinction during the four-year Engineering course and also boasted the best overall average in Industrial Engineering over the last three years. Her average over four years was 89.7%.
Being a top academic achiever, Kazmaier has been a member of the Golden Key International Honours Society since 2014. The Golden Key International Honours Society is the world's premier collegiate honour society that recognises outstanding academic achievement and connects high-achieving individuals locally, regionally & globally.
But for Kazmaier it hasn't just been about books, going to classes and studying for tests and exams over the past four years.
“You have to keep a good balance. I actually noticed after my first year, when I started to do more things I enjoy over weekends or after class, that I actually started doing better than before, so my advice to other students would be to do your hobbies as much as you do your university work," said Kazmaier.
Apart from honing her skills in photography, videography and graphic design, she was also actively involved in, among others, the Management Committee of the German Carnival Society of Stellenbosch University (MatieKa); DASUS, a university society for primarily German-speaking students that facilitates the introduction of new German students into the Matie Community, and SU's Consulting Society. As a music lover, Kazmaier also took part in a very successful run during the Sêr acapella singing competition in 2015 and 2016 at SU.
Throughout her studies, Kazmaier also took time out to participate in surfing and volleyball as a member of both Maties Surfing and Maties Volleyball.
Kazmaier says she will return to SU next year and continue her studies by doing a Masters in Industrial Engineering. She also plans to do an exchange to Munich for six months, as part of her postgraduate studies.
- This is the second consecutive year that the Chancellor's Medal is awarded to an Engineering student.
Photo: Ms Jacqueline Kazmaier with Proff Wikus van Niekerk, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, at the graduation ceremony.
Photographer: Stefan Els
