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31 January 2018 Photo Charl Devenish
Kovsie Star of Stars winner believes that Geology rocks
Director of UFS Marketing, Nomonde Mbadi, with the winner of Kovsies Star of Stars for 2017, Palesa Modutwane.

Starting in 2016, UFS Marketing embarked on a project designed to help learners from less fortunate backgrounds to discover their potential. This competition, dubbed ‘Kovsies Star of Stars’, designed to help recognise excellence and reward disadvantaged learners from Quintile 1 to 3 (non-fee-paying) schools. The project’s motto is ‘Aspire to Inspire’, with the goal of discovering the potential hidden beneath the hard-packed surface of poverty.

Two of the five Free State districts were identified, namely Xhariep and Motheo, where the initiative is currently being conducted. In 2016, Grade 12 learners were invited to participate, with ‘Doctor’ Tshepo Thajane, from Lefikeng Secondary School in Botshabelo, being selected as the winner of the inaugural competition. He was pursuing a degree in Actuarial Sciences at the UFS, and towards the end of 2017, he was offered a scholarship to study abroad. This outstanding initiative by the UFS Marketing team was honoured with an award from the organisation Marketing, Advancement, and Communication in Education (MACE) in November 2017.

“We hope to give
… life and hope.”
—Nomonde Mbadi,
Director: UFS Marketing

Initiative seeks to ‘give life and hope’


Nomonde Mbadi, Director of UFS Marketing, whose brainchild the project is, says, “In spite of living in the depths of poverty, taking each day as it comes, these learners have more drive and passion than many others.”

Ms Mbadi and her team, including Chantel Koller, project lead on Star of Stars, aim to "give these learners life and hope" by means of the project, she says.

The winner of the Kovsie Star of Stars for 2017 is Palesa Modutwane from Ipetleng Secondary School in Petrusburg, Free State. She says of her achievement: “This means that all the hard work that I invested in my studies and in community projects is being recognised, and I feel like a new chapter of opportunities has been opened to me. It means that my background does not determine my future. Despite all of this, I still managed to conquer.”

Palesa will be studying Geology at the UFS. After all the hard work getting into her chosen programme, she is up for the challenges and is ready to represent women who were denied the opportunity in a previously male-dominated industry. She says, “I want to show that we have the same potential and wisdom as men.”

News Archive

Intravarsity starts with a rhythm!
2012-05-04

 

Students on our Bloemfontein Campus took part in a flashmob at the start of Intravarsity.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
4 May 2012

Photo Gallery
Programme (pdf format)

It is Kovsie against Kovsie today and Saturday, 4 and 5 May 2012, with students from our Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses competing against each other during Intravarsity.

The inter-campus competition replaces the Intervarsity 2012 programme and will be held on the Bloemfontein Campus. The annual Intervarsity between the Universities of the Free State and North-West (NWU), which traditionally takes place in the third term, has been postponed to 2013.

Students from the two campuses will compete in sports activities like basketball, cross country, netball and soccer. Arts and culture, and leadership events between the two campuses are also planned.

The action started at 14:00 today. At 15:30, residence soccer teams take to the field and later, at 18:40, there is a debating competition.

Saturday’s activities include a leadership breakfast for student leaders and a Wheelchair Rally that takes place in the Kovsie Student Church parking area. The big sporting event for the day is the men and ladies soccer teams from the two campuses taking each other on. The programme concludes with an Intravarsity Music festival starting at 18:30 and continuing until 24:00.

Friday 4 May 2012 has been scheduled as a lecture-free day and Monday 7 May 2012 as a test-free day.

 

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