Online Reporter
Gibson Mhaka [email protected]
A Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Applied Biology and Biochemistry graduand, Nomagugu Precious Ngwenya, emerged as one of the top performers at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) 32nd graduation ceremony after scooping 14 awards on Thursday.
Ngwenya, who graduated in the First Division, distinguished herself by obtaining 29 first classes out of 35 modules, with a weighted aggregate score of 84 percent.
Among the awards she received were two Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa Chancellor’s Awards.
She received the US$1 000 Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa Chancellor’s Award for Overall Best Female Undergraduate Student and the US$500 Chancellor’s Award for Overall Best Graduating Student in the Faculty of Applied Science.
The outstanding graduate also received the Vice-Chancellor’s Prize, NUST Book Prize and the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) Prize for the Best STEM Female Graduand in the Faculty of Applied Science.
She further scooped the ZIMDEF Prize for Best Performing Student, AH Prize for Best Student in Analytical Biochemistry, CN Prize for Best Student in Enzymology and Immunology, and the Krain Labs Prize for Best Student in Quality Assurance.
Other awards were the LEC Biotec Prize for Best Graduating Student in the Department, PNB Prize for Best Graduating Female Student in the Department, Prof Shadreck Dube Prize for Best Final Year Project, Prof Thembekile Ncube Prize for Best Student in Advanced Applied Microbiology, and the STEM Lady Shield and Prize for Best Female Graduating Student in the Department.
Ngwenya’s haul of awards capped an exceptional undergraduate academic record, with her 29 first-class passes accounting for the overwhelming majority of the 35 modules she studied.
Her performance also placed her among the leading female graduates and top-performing students at the university’s 32nd graduation ceremony.
