The first Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) alumni to graduate with a PhD expresses her gratitude to the independent school and the “driver” of her dreams, Oprah Winfrey.

Dr Lindiwe Tsope, who obtained a BA in social science, BA Honours, Master of Arts from Rhodes University (RU), completed her doctoral degree in 2020.

Tsope matriculated from OWLAG in 2012 and was conferred with her PhD in philosophy during a virtual graduation ceremony last week.

In a statement on Monday, the independent boarding school in Meyerton said the doctoral graduate served as the class representative for the class of 2012 on the OWLAG Alumnae Network.

“Dr Tsope is a true role model for our OWLAG students. Congratulations Dr Tsope, the OWLAG community is proud of you!” the school said.

Tsope expressed her “deep and heartfelt gratitude” to her OWLAG family, with special thanks to Oprah Winfrey, the “driver” of her dreams.

RU said Tsope focused on the topic of “a narrative study of students’ and staff’s experiences of living with HIV and Aids at Rhodes University” for her PhD research.

“The first of its kind at Rhodes University, the study looked into the lived experiences of both students and support staff living with HIV and Aids at the university.”

RU said that during Tsope’s eight years at the university in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, she fulfilled roles including as a tutor, mentor, teacher’s assistant, lecturer and honours supervisor.

Tsope said that it was during her experience as a lecturer, from 2018 to 2020, that she received her most valuable lessons.

She said the transition from student to tutor and eventually lecturer was interesting as some students were taken aback when they realised she would be their lecturer as she was very young. However, after a few classes, she won their respect.

“As a lecturer, I felt like my life had come full circle, as I was also once a student in the very same class I was now teaching,” she said.

Tsope added that having the opportunity to teach alongside people she admired was surreal and one of her best memories.

The university said Tsope’s journey to attaining her PhD was not an easy one as she faced challenges to her research due to the Covid-19 lockdown regulations. However, she found the will to push herself and complete her journey with support and encouragement from her peers and colleagues.

“I had people calling me and reminding me what a big deal my achievement is. It is the greatest thing I have done for myself, literally,” she said.

Tsope remembered how she cried for an hour when she received the notification that she had completed her qualification.

“The level of support I received was from the ground up. I had people who believed in me so much, they started calling me ‘Doc’ even before I completed my qualification,” she added.