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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

UFS to host one the most prestigious seminars in leadership
2004-09-28

The Business School of the University of the Free State (UFS) will be hosting the Central Region’s screening of the largest global satellite broadcast of the 2004 Living Leadership: Delivering Results the Right Way event.

The event, which will take place on 21 October 2004 from 09:00-16:30 at the Albert Wessels Auditorium on campus, will be up linked from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and will be broadcasted via satellite to 95 cities in two countries.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for leaders in the Central Region to gain exposure to the pioneers in the international leadership field,” said Prof Helena van Zyl, Director of the UFS’s School of Management.

The global satellite simulcast will bring together a powerful diverse group of the world’s leading business authorities. This includes Mr Donald Trump, chairman of The Trump Organisation; Mr Mikhail Gorbachev, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and former president of the Soviet Union; Mr Jim Collins, speaking on his recent best-seller, Good To Great; Mr Peter Drucker, father of management and author of The Effective Executive; Ms Rosabeth Moss Kanter, professor at Harvard Business School; Mr Ken Blanchard, best-selling author of The One Minute Manager; Mr John C Maxwell, best-selling author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and acclaimed speaker; Mr Russell Simmons, entrepreneur and co-founder of Def Jam Records and Mr Larry Bossidy, co-author of the best-seller, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done.

According to Prof Van Zyl the Living Leadership global satellite broadcast will give attendants exclusive access to the Financial Mail’s Executive Panel. It will also give local executives and renowned leaders the opportunity to share their interpretation of leadership in practical, relevant terms.

Mr Jack Welch’s executive assistant and author of Managing Up, Ms Rosanne Badowski and Ms Caroline Kepcher, an executive vice president to Mr Donald Trump and a lead role on NBC’s hit show, The Apprentice, will join the panel with a special session.

Each of the cutting-edge insights shared by this gathering of world-class leadership authorities will deliver effective benchmarks which teams will use to shape their business outcomes.

The cost is R950,00 per person (group discount is also available) – this includes the receipt of two free issues of the Financial Mail. Tickets are available at Computicket.

For more information on this seminar visit www.livingleadership.co.za or contact Ms Isa Boshoff at 051-4012874 / boshofia.ekw@mail.uovs.ac.za .

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
28 September 2004
 

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