Special PhD double for mom and daughter
- Wits Alumni Relations
Witsie family embrace the spirit of constantly learning new things.
A mother and daughter shared a special milestone during one of the graduation ceremonies held in the Great Hall on 11 December 2023.
Gloria Castrillon (BA 1989, BA Hon 1990, MA 1993, MA 2015, PhD 2023) and Alyssa Castrillon Vratsanos (BA 2016, BA Hons 2017, MA 2018, PhD 2023) both crossed the stage and each earned their doctorate degrees during the same PhD ceremony.
Gloria, who is director at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Academic Planning and Quality Promotion, completed four previous degrees at Wits. The title of her thesis in African literature was “People is people”: African personhood in the works of Bessie Head.
She insisted that she’s not an academic, but pursued this latest degree out of passion. “Being in the role of student means that I don’t ossify! I hope to keep on learning new things all the time. I am already thinking about my next study possibility.”
Alyssa said the day could be likened to a “wedding” and she’d been counting down since she knew their names would be on the graduation list about three weeks ago. She set a timer on her cellphone, counting the moment down to the second. Her thesis, in linguistics, titled “Diasporic landscape: A geosemiotic analysis of Greekness in Johannesburg” draws on her own heritage as a second-generation immigrant and offers an analysis of the Greek diaspora in Johannesburg. She will be pursuing a post doctorate at the University of Johannesburg in the new year.
Alyssa explained that the double PhD initially started out spontaneously. “My mom registered first, and she was a bit further along in the process when I started my literature review.” But she soon caught up and the pair established a supportive rhythm, setting up regular meetings – sometimes three times a week – to work alongside each other and meet specific chapter deadlines.
“I’m definitely sad that it’s over now,” said Gloria.
This unique family was keen to capture the day on campus after the official proceedings, despite the overcast weather and the Solomon Mahlangu Concourse was one place that Gloria singled out for photographs as it was there that she remembered special conversations and friendships.
“I would have to say it is the people who make up the university. I am still friends with so many people I met as an undergraduate, and with so many who work there now. They have been part of my life since 1986 and are part of my children’s lives too. My lecturers especially in Social Anthropology way back when, and in African Literature up to the present, continue to model for me what it means to be a teacher, an academic, and a friend.”
The family’s relationship with Wits started in the late 1980s and Gloria’s husband Dimitri Vratsanos (BSc 1985, BSc Hons 1986, PhD 1996) also completed his doctorate at Wits in 1996. Their youngest daughter Clara Castrillon Vratsanos (BA 2021, BA Hons 2023) will be pursuing her master’s in 2024.
Gloria attributed this lifelong love of learning to her parents, now in their eighties and also present at the ceremony, who “read all the time”. As a result, she said “I read, some would say, obsessively. My parents’ enquiring minds and their encouragement to do whatever motivates me, means I do not think I am yet done with studies!”