Grad Week 2025 | Dyan Buis — Discipline, Resilience, and Never Giving Up
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In this powerful Grad Week conversation, we sit down with Dyan Buis — former Paralympic gold medallist, world champion athlete, teacher, pastor, and newly graduated Master’s graduate in Education Policy Studies.
Diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy at a young age, Dyan has spent his life refusing to let circumstance define his limits. From international sporting podiums to the classroom, the pulpit, and now postgraduate research, his journey is shaped by discipline, faith, and an unwavering belief that giving up is never an option.
Buis, who is a teacher at Lückhoff High School in Stellenbosch and a pastor at the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, describes himself as very competitive, performance-driven, and solution- and goal-oriented. No wonder he became a world-class sprinter and long jumper who now also boasts a Master’s degree.
In this interview, Dyan reflects on balancing elite sport, full-time teaching, family life, and postgraduate study — including moments of near burnout, the role of faith, and the support systems that carried him through. He shares insights from his Master’s research, which focused on the lived educational experiences of learners with physical disabilities in mainstream schools, and the gaps between inclusive education policy and everyday practice.
Joined in studio by his wife Erna, his daughter Ernay, and his son Daniel, this conversation is also about family, gratitude, and what it means to pursue excellence while staying grounded.
Recorded Friday, 12 December 2025, this episode forms part of MFM 92.6’s Grad Week 2025 series, celebrating the real journeys behind the degrees — the sacrifices, the setbacks, the growth, and the values graduates carry into the world beyond campus.
Once a Matie, always a Matie.
Diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy at a young age, Dyan has spent his life refusing to let circumstance define his limits. From international sporting podiums to the classroom, the pulpit, and now postgraduate research, his journey is shaped by discipline, faith, and an unwavering belief that giving up is never an option.
Buis, who is a teacher at Lückhoff High School in Stellenbosch and a pastor at the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa, describes himself as very competitive, performance-driven, and solution- and goal-oriented. No wonder he became a world-class sprinter and long jumper who now also boasts a Master’s degree.
In this interview, Dyan reflects on balancing elite sport, full-time teaching, family life, and postgraduate study — including moments of near burnout, the role of faith, and the support systems that carried him through. He shares insights from his Master’s research, which focused on the lived educational experiences of learners with physical disabilities in mainstream schools, and the gaps between inclusive education policy and everyday practice.
Joined in studio by his wife Erna, his daughter Ernay, and his son Daniel, this conversation is also about family, gratitude, and what it means to pursue excellence while staying grounded.
Recorded Friday, 12 December 2025, this episode forms part of MFM 92.6’s Grad Week 2025 series, celebrating the real journeys behind the degrees — the sacrifices, the setbacks, the growth, and the values graduates carry into the world beyond campus.
Once a Matie, always a Matie.
