Actor Thato Dithebe this week graduated from Witwatersrand University (Wits) with an engineering degree. Speaking to Sunday World, Dithebe said it feels great to finally say “the job is done”.
“Left home as an entertainer, and came back as an engineer, all the glory to God. This degree is dedicated to my mother. Growing up, I was a creative kid who wanted to do everything, from TV to dancing, to designing.
Time, dedication and money
“All these things required a lot of time and money. So my mom would always say that as long as my grades were good. She promised to be 100% behind me with everything else I wanted to do,” said Dithebe.
Dithebe said he wanted to study Film and TV. However, his family advised him to rather study something outside of that field.
“Their reasoning being I could learn everything on the job when it comes to film and televsion since I’m already in the space. A degree in engineering would be a great fall-back if I ever want to leave the industry.”
The actor has been in the entertainment industry since the age of eight. He had to leave school early to get to Urban Brew studios to film YoTv (kiddies show), and would get home late and still have to do homework to do.
Good support system
“Balancing work and school was not much of a challenge. I have gotten used to the balancing. Also, a huge part of the credit has to go to my support system.
“My family, friends and producers always understood that I had quite a bit on my plate. So they’d always cover for me. Sometimes when I would miss lectures, my friends would take notes for me. If it was exam season and I needed time off to study, my producers were always understanding,” he said.
Also Read: Landing role on Kokota Piano a big achievement for Thato Dithebe
