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07 November 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Johan Roux
Qwaqwa Campus top academic achiever, Selloane Mile, with Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew.
Qwaqwa Campus top academic achiever, Selloane Mile, with Campus Principal, Dr Martin Mandew.

Bosso ke mang? So goes a popular township saying derived from the late Hip Hop Pantsula’s (HHP) hit track, Bosso. Literally, it means ‘who is the boss?’

Selloane Mile, the 2018/2019 SRC Secretary General for the Qwaqwa Campus, was a tutor in the Faculties of Education and the Humanities from 2017 to 2019, and is also an aspiring poet and author. She is now the Qwaqwa Campus Dux Student for 2019, with an average of 84, 3%.

“I am very honoured and humbled to have been bestowed the award as the best academic student on the Qwaqwa Campus at the recent Student Excellence Awards ceremony. The experience certainly feels unreal and I am yet to come to terms with the magnitude of this accolade,” said Selloane, a final-year Bachelor of Education (Senior Phase and FET) student. 

The secret is, there is no secret

When asked what her secret was, she said: “I do not think there is any secret or technique that I can attribute my academic achievements to. However, I think setting a standard for yourself and being consistent in whatever we do to realise those standards we have set for ourselves, is the key to success. Also important is flexibility. One has to give yourself the chance to explore and tap into different horizons.” 

Cognitive growth

“You cannot grow cognitively if you do not challenge yourself. For instance, reading a book outside the scope of your discipline can prove beneficial, because you get to be more knowledgeable. The advice I would give is that you must constantly remind yourself why you are here and let that be the driving force, even when things are gloomy, to let that motivate you. If you want to achieve certain things, you have to compromise and deprive yourself of other things; so, priorities should be the order of the day,” said the future Biology and English educator.

Looking back

Selloane is a proud product of Qwabi, Molibeli, and Reabetswe primary schools in Qwaqwa.

“I was born and bred here at Mandela Park in Qwaqwa. I did my Grades 10-12 at Moteka Secondary School, and that is why I would like to go back and teach at a public school – to bring about change in my community.”

Other awards Selloane received, were the Faculty of Education Overall Best Performer, and the Top Academic Achiever in the 2018/2019 SRC. Clearly, bosso ke Selloane!

Some of the recipients on the day were:
Dineo Tsotetsi (81,5%) – Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences Overall Best Achiever
Katleho Motloung (78, 3%) – Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Overall Best Achiever
Tina Magaqa (74%) – Faculty of the Humanities Overall Best Achiever
Pakiso Mthembu – Sportsman of the Year
Sandakahle Msamariya Khumalo – Sportswoman of the Year
Thabo Mdletshe – UFS101 Teaching Assistant of the Year
Charlotte Maxeke Residence – The Cleanest Residence on Campus
Siphamandla Shabangu – Selfless Volunteer and Gateway Mentor
UFS Qwaqwa Campus Chorale – Outstanding Performing Arts and Cultural Society 

News Archive

Symbolism and naming in spotlight at NSSA conference
2016-10-06

Description: NSSA LN Read More Tags: NSSA LN Read More

From the left, front: Prof Nhlanhla Mathonsi,
President of the NSSA, and Prof Thenjiwe Meyiwa,
Registrar at DUT.
Left, back (from the UFS): Prof Peter Raper,
Research Fellow at the ULFE and executive
member of the scientific council and paper
selection committee, Prof Theodorus du Plessis,
Director of the Unit for Language Facilitation
and Empowerment, and JC van der Merwe,
acting Director of the Institute for
Reconciliation and Social Justice.
Photo: Supplied

The 19th Names Society of Southern Africa (NSSA) International Conference saw delegates from around the world make their way to the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus to study names as well as naming systems.

The conference took place from 20 to 22 September and was organised by the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment (ULFE) at the UFS, alongside the NSSA. Delegates from South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Germany, and Taiwan attended.

The NSSA is a society dedicated to the study of names, naming, and naming systems. Members of the society come from a variety of disciplines, but all share an interest in names and their meaning.

Symbolism and naming in public sphere

The topic of this year’s conference was Symbolism and Instrumentality in Naming with categories of research which included anthroponyms, geographical names, names in history, literary onomastics, brand names, and politics of naming in a public sphere.

Issue of gender in naming systems

Keynote speakers included Prof Thenjiwe Meyiwa, Registrar at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), and Prof Peter Raper, Professor Extraordinaire at the UFS, Research Fellow at the ULFE, and executive member of the scientific council and paper selection committee.

In her address entitled, Naming is to gender as gender is to naming: Emerging Onomastics Scholarship, Prof Meyiwa noted that analysing names using gender enquiry is a potentially useful tool for identifying various communities’ values, belief systems, and perceptions as it relates to sexes.

“The talk called for the development of what I refer to as ‘feminist onomastics theory and research practice,’ which should primarily seek to bring about change and/or reimagine onomastics research."

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