Kayise Ngqula Earns Her GIBS Degree After 15-Year Educational Journey

Actress, host, and TV presenter Kayise Ngqula has reached a remarkable milestone — she’s officially a graduate of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at the University of Pretoria. The beloved media personality took to Instagram to celebrate the proud moment, opening up about her long and emotional academic journey that began over 15 years ago.

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A post shared by KAYISE NGQULA 🇿🇦✨ (@kayise_ngqula)

Sharing her story, Kayise wrote,

“I thought that one day I’d write about what my educational journey has been like in a memoir when I turn 50 or something… subsequent to attaining this achievement that ONE DAY has come sooner it seems.”

Kayise revealed that her path to graduation was far from easy. About 15 years ago, she enrolled at the University of Johannesburg to study BA International Relations, a course she hadn’t initially planned on taking.

“A major I had no idea I would end up doing but God had other plans, so I went ahead and trusted the journey,” she shared. “Surprisingly, I enjoyed how dynamic this degree was.”

However, things took a difficult turn when she was academically excluded at the end of her second year due to poor exam results. She explained that at the time, her family was going through challenges, and financial struggles made it impossible for her to continue her studies.

“The pain of a broken family structure and the reality that my education could no longer be funded by my family was a major setback,” she said.

Determined not to give up, Kayise entered the job market as an “unqualified but equally ambitious young black woman with colourful dreams” of becoming a media mogul. In 2017, she made another attempt to complete her degree, but life took another turn when she won the Our Perfect Wedding (OPW) Presenter Search — a breakthrough moment in her television career.

“That year I won the OPW Presenter Search, an opportunity I had been preparing for my whole life, so I could not let it pass me by,” she explained.

Since then, Kayise has built an inspiring career in media and entertainment, establishing herself as a respected figure in the industry. She credits her success to passion, resilience, and faith.

“I have been infinitely blessed to have received the recognition and acknowledgment of the work that I do that is purely founded on passion, resilience, audacity and the tenacity to believe that I could be all that I ought to be,” she said.

Now, as part of the first cohort of GIBS Business School’s Executive Programme in Media Leadership, Kayise sees her graduation as a reflection of her growth — both personally and professionally.

“Graduating as part of the first cohort of @gibsbusinessschool Executive Programme in Media Leadership is testament to that. I remain grateful for a journey that is only beginning to unfold,” she concluded.