Enthusiasm and hard work paid off for Chemical Engineering student, Ms Pachia Marimuthu, who graduated with her BSc in Chemical Engineering.

Being an undergraduate, Marimuthu has already used the opportunity to communicate and propose for her final engineering design research, which is the economic viability of an acrylic acid plant. The rigorous research would be conducted to determine a process scheme which would result in an optimum design that considered economic and environmental considerations, health and safety regulations. She is hoping that doing this research will serve to justify the design and optimisation of the acrylic acid production plant, with the main objective to accurately design, optimise and provide a technical engineering design to determine the feasibility of the acrylic acid plant.

She considers her parents as her greatest heroes and role models. ‘My mom and dad have been instrumental in my life. Their guidance and unconditional love have moulded the roles of perfect parents. As I graduate, I would like to express my undying appreciation to my mother and father for always pushing me to be the best, their unwavering support and continuous encouragement. I am so blessed and thankful for everything they do for me and I am so proud to call them my mom and dad,’ she said.

Currently working as a Process Engineer at Deloitte Consulting, Marimuthu plans to complete her PhD, MBA as well as PrEng. ‘I would also love to manage my own consulting practice soon but my ultimate and most important goal is to send my parents on a holiday and build a secure, comfortable life for them,’ she said.

Marimuthu’s passion is what helped her pull through in her academic journey as there were days she thought she would not graduate. ‘My first year of university was shattering. I got a supplementary exam for 80 percent of my modules. I rewrote and had to repeat them the following year. It was at this time that my career choice was questioned. However, I knew Chemical Engineering was my passion and so I cried a little, but then I wiped away the tears, picked myself up, took out my textbooks and continued to study. Last year during my final year, I had just gone through the challenging experience of final year Design, only to log onto Student Central and find that I passed all but one module. It was at this time I really felt like throwing in the towel but I realised that giving up was not an option and so I pressed on,’ said Marimuthu.

Outside of Engineering, she is also pursuing a Diploma in Photography as it is one her passions.

She urged aspiring Engineering students to never give up, trust and believe in their journey.

Words: Manqoba Hadebe

Photograph: Rajesh Jantilal