25 April 2023
Photo Lunga Luthuli
Naledi Mogotsi and Jacobus Kotze believe the sky is the limit, as they graduated with Master of Business Administration degrees at the University of the Free State April graduation ceremonies.
The University of the Free State’s (UFS) April graduation saw several staff members exchanging their office space for the graduation stage.
Naledi Mogotsi and Jacobus Kotze are two of the many staff members who obtained qualifications. Mogotsi, Senior Officer in the Department of Finance on the Qwaqwa Campus, and Kotze, Assistant Director in I
CT Services on the Bloemfontein Campus, both received their Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees during the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences ceremony on 19 April 2023.
Mogotsi expressed her excitement and gratitude at the achievement. She said: “When I first started this degree, I was anxious and thought I would fail to complete it, since many people said it would take a lot of time away from family and friends – which it did. This achievement simply implies that I have conquered one of my greatest fears.”
Kotze also spoke of his pride and satisfaction in completing his MBA. “An MBA is definitely not something you do for the prestige of it. During my MBA journey I learned, among others – a lot about myself, to ask more questions, and definitely to treasure relationships and different perspectives and opinions,” added Kotze.
A journey with challenges
He noted that the programme was challenging but rewarding, and Kotze is looking forward to applying the knowledge and skills he gained to his teaching and research.
Based in Qwaqwa, Mogotsi recalls shedding tears from time to time, as she also had to deal with electricity outages for long periods. “I remember at some point the whole area was out of electricity for seven days straight. With the demanding nature of the degree, it was very challenging, given that one would have to attend contact sessions or submit assessments,” added Mogotsi.
On the journey to completing her MBA, Naledi completed a BTech degree in Business Administration in 2015, while Kotze completed a BTech degree in Information Technology in 2006.
The reason Kotze took long to register for the MBA was because he doubted “that the MBA would have been as valuable earlier as is the case now, having a bit more life experience”.
Kotze said: “The journey was not always easy, but I learnt that nothing worthwhile comes easy. We sometimes tend to forget the value and growth that lies within the journey.”
The qualification a dream realised
Mogotsi recalls wanting to study for an MBA qualification at the age of 21; “obtaining the qualification 10 years later was beautiful to watch”, as she realised that she would not have been able to study earlier because she was “still fresh in the corporate world”.
Both Mogotsi and Kotze believe they would not have achieved their degrees without the support of colleagues, friends, and family. Mogotsi said her mother was her pillar of support, as she would sometimes brief her on some assessments, and her mother “would literally come back later and say, you know, I did a bit of research on what we spoke about, and she would go on and tell me what she discovered”.
Planning for the future, Kotze said: “With my MBA, I learnt to never say never – so let me instead respond by saying, ‘Watch this space.’ My message to everyone is that you will stand amazed at what you can achieve if you challenge yourself.”