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Be loyal to your calling

04 March 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba

Next Chapter calls upon you to stay true to yourself by taking care of your mental well-being.

As the academic year kicks off, the University of the Free State gives a warm welcome to first-year and returning students. In the spirit of healthy new beginnings, Next Chapter has penned a letter to fellow students that speaks to mental health. Hear what they have to say:

Be loyal to your calling and the universe will locate you; once located, dominate! Fellow Kovsies, it is really happening. Not so long ago, this was just a dream – and somewhat far-fetched.

This is your moment; be at ease and feel at home, because you’re about to become a long-term tenant in a prestigious community of diversity, love, care, family, greatness, and prosperity. With that said, I welcome the class of 2019 to a community of brilliant minds. Bear in mind that all of us want to be part of such a community, but only a few get to make it – so, be very proud of yourselves.

Tap into endless possibilities

Now that you are here, know that everything is at your fingertips; you have the upper hand, and everything is now made possible. This is a moment for growth, to reinvent yourself, and expect the greatest confusion of your life as your mind and feelings will be tested and conflicted. Here is where you learn and unlearn certain things about your community and the world around you. So, please take this opportunity to explore, engage, participate, and where you can, mark your territory and dominate.

University can be tough as you face adversities and struggle to cope with juggling your grades and a social life. Find comfort in the knowledge that these are temporary circumstance you need to contend with. You are destined to emerge at the top.

Never succumb to the urge of givingup

There will be days when your subconscious fails you, there will be days when discontinuing your academics and heading back home is tempting. Do not to give in. Do not give up. You are here for a reason. Think about the twelve years of your life spent preparing for this moment. Some of you are going to struggle with academics, social life, finances, and conflicted minds which will hinder you in focusing on your academics. Seek help when you struggle.

Surround yourself with positive people who always bring out the best in you. There are avenues available to you, such as the psychologist sessions offered by Kovsie Health, and social workers who are there to help with various issues.

Support is at your disposal

Mentorship programmes such as Gateway are also at your disposal as a first-year student adjusting to a new environment. Student Life is always there for you in times of need. Next Chapter is a student organisation that advocates for mental health and can assist as well should you need support.

From us as Next Chapter to you as fellow students, we would like to officially welcome and encourage you to make the best of this experience. Be loyal to your calling, which has led you to the University of the Free State – and never forget that you matter. This is the beginning of something great and the continuing of your story.

News Archive

Nobel Prize-winner presents first lecture at Vice-Chancellor’s prestige lecture series

2017-11-17

At the first lecture in the UFS Vice Chancellor’s Prestige Lecture series,
were from the left: Prof Jeanette Conradie, UFS Department of Chemistry;
Prof Michael Levitt, Nobel Prize-winner in Chemistry, biophysicist and
professor in structural biology at Stanford University; Prof Francis Petersen,
UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector; and Prof Corli Witthuhn,
UFS Vice-Rector: Research.
Photo: Johan Roux

South African born biophysicist and Nobel Prize-winner in Chemistry, Prof Michael Levitt, paid a visit to the University of the Free Sate (UFS) as part of the Academy of Science of South Africa’s (ASSAf) Distinguished Visiting Scholars’ Programme.

Early this week the professor in structural biology at Stanford University in the US presented a captivating lecture on the Bloemfontein Campus on his lifetime’s work that earned him the Nobel Prize in 2013. His lecture launched the UFS Vice-Chancellor’s Prestige Lecture series, aimed at knowledge sharing within, and beyond our university boundaries.

Prof Levitt was one of the first researchers to conduct molecular dynamics simulations of DNA and proteins and developed the first software for this purpose. He received the prize for Chemistry, together with Martin Karplus and Arieh Warshel, “for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems”.

Attending the lecture were members of UFS management, academic staff from a range of faculties and other universities as well as young researchers. “Multiscale modelling is very much based on something that makes common sense,” Prof Levitt explained. “And that is to makes things as simple as possible, but not simpler. Everything needs to have the right level of simplicity, that is not too simple, but not too complicated.”

An incredible mind
Prof Levitt enrolled for applied mathematics at the University of Pretoria at the age of 15. He visited his uncle and aunt in London after his first-year exams, and decided to stay on because they had a television, he claims. A series on molecular biology broadcast on BBC, sparked an interest that would lead Prof Levitt via Israel, and Cambridge, to the Nobel Prize stage – all of which turned out to be vital building blocks for his research career.

Technology to the rescue
The first small protein model that Prof Levitt built was the size of a room. But that exercise led to the birth of multiscale modelling of macromolecules. For the man on the street, that translates to computerised models used to simulate protein action, and reaction. With some adaptations, the effect of medication can be simulated on human protein in a virtual world.

“I was lucky to stand on the shoulder of giants,” he says about his accomplishments, and urges the young to be good and kind. “Be passionate about what you do, be persistent, and be original,” he advised.

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