Dear fellow alumni

 

I have read the December edition of the NWU & U and what a delight! Suddenly, twenty-odd years between me and my student days disappeared and it felt like yesterday that I was there.

 

I studied pharmacy at the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education.

 

As a pharmacy student the Ferdinand Postma Library was basically my second home. My “home away from home” was Karlien ladies’ residence – and more specifically, floor 4. Prof Fika Janse van Rensburg was “Pa” Fika to all of us in Karlien then.

 

It was really an unforgettable experience: friendships were forged, we folded flowers for the Rag procession, we went on picnics in the botanical gardens, the President of Tarentaal was followed with doglike devotion, and Lovers’ Lane was a frequent destination.

 

However, we also had to make difficult decisions. The latter included choices like: Are we going to attend the intervarsity in Bloemfontein or study for the imminent pharmacology oral exam?

 

In my first year I sang the Dore song (first-year song) with gusto together with my fellow Karlieners. To this day I know the words of the university anthem, the residence song and the Sentraal dining hall song by heart. And, I must add, the new university anthem is not only beautiful to hear, but it also addresses the heartbeat of the university: proud and dignified.

 

I was a student from 1990 to 1994 and, like today, that was a time of great change. However, I am very proud of my alma mater and the way the university approaches change. To me the university will always be relevant and at the forefront of excellence. But even more, it will always be my heart’s delight.

 

Kind regards

Celia Willms