Unisa graduate completes LLB degree in record time with 35 distinctions

Deborah Pillay completed her LLB degree in record time with 35 distinctions from Unisa. Photo: Supplied.

Deborah Pillay completed her LLB degree in record time with 35 distinctions from Unisa. Photo: Supplied.

Published May 31, 2023

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Durban — A Durban woman who completed her LLB degree in record time with 35 distinctions from Unisa said she had to juggle between work, being a wife and studying at the same time.

Debora Pillay said: “I am happy with my achievement, it is never too late and it does not matter how old one is. However my road was not cleanly paved, in fact, there were plenty of trials and tribulations but despite this, I had finished my LLB degree, not only on time but with 35 distinctions (cum laude). During this time, I assisted others by providing online tuition as my way of giving back to the community.

“I had enrolled in part-time study at the University of South Africa, wherein through hard work, discipline, and the guidance of my various mentors was able to balance working a full-time job, assisting my ageing parents, being a loving wife and a part-time student.”

Pillay said she matriculated at Woodlands Secondary School, Pietermaritzburg in 2007, but now resided in Durban.

Starting at Unisa in 2019 and finishing in 2022, she is the first person in her family to have matriculated and having the opportunity to further her studies, she said.

“Upon my matriculation in the year 2007, my family fell on hard times when my father suffered various health complications. “This put my goals of immediately attending varsity on the back burner as I needed to rise to the occasion and assist my elderly parents.

“I hope to grow in the future as I learn more and branch out and find more ways to help the voiceless, previously disadvantaged and vulnerable learn about the tools to enforce their legal rights and not become victims of their circumstances,” said Pillay.

She added it did not matter where one came from or where one started, what obstacles stood in their way, but where one finished and what their legacy would be.

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