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24 August 2020 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Supplied
Lebohang Masoabi believes she is a champion woman as she commits her time to nurture other champions.

Growing up with an inferiority complex has taught Lebohang Masoabi to flourish in her adult life. She credits former Vice-Chairperson of the University of the Free State’s Council, Dr Nthabeleng Rammile, as a woman who continues to inspire her. She recently won an Innovation in Learning and Teaching award during the Qwaqwa Campus Centre for Teaching and Learning’s Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards. 

She has just completed her MCom degree in Business Management, focusing on the role of entrepreneurial education on attitudes and intentions of university students. 

Please tell us about yourself: Who you are and what you do? 

My name is Lebohang Masoabi. I am a Lecturer in the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State Qwaqwa Campus. My areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, entrepreneurship and marketing.

Is there a woman who inspires you and who you would like to celebrate this Women’s Month, and why?

Dr Nthabeleng Rammile. She is intentional and unapologetic about pursuing her destiny. She is a great example of defying limitations. She constantly challenges her abilities. She oozes confidence. But above all, I love how she is passionate about the growth and development of other women, and how she has made it her life’s work to ensure that other women succeed in pursuit of their dreams. 

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your life that have made you a better woman?

Self-esteem issues: I had to learn to love myself and believe in myself and when I overcame that, I was unstoppable.

Inferiority complex: I was always afraid to express my full potential, wondering if I am worth it compared to others in my professional and personal space. I then realised that I am not weak, I am not vulnerable, I am not a damsel in distress. The day I realised my full potential as a woman, I flourished.

 

I had to learn to love myself and believe in myself and when I overcame that, I was unstoppable.

What advice would you give to the 15-year-old you?

• You are worth more than you think.
• Not everyone is going to like you, and that is fine.
• Be brave and do what scares you.
• Be kind to yourself.
• Forgive quickly, move on quickly.
• The girls who did not like you then, want to be you now!
• Learn to breathe through the tough moments, it’s not the end of the world.

What would you say makes you a champion woman [of the UFS]?

For the past four years on our campus, I have committed my time and energy to mentor students who are in quest of their professional and personal development, some of whom have launched their careers and have become champions in their own spaces.

So, my answer to this question is that what makes me a champion woman of the UFS is the fact that I nurture other champions!

 


News Archive

Students excel in legal interpreting programme
2010-02-24

Prof. Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: External Relations at the UFS with one of the students who received a diploma.
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe


A success rate of 90% was achieved by the first group of 100 students that successfully completed the two-year Diploma in Legal Interpreting at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The group recently received their diplomas at the ceremony held on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The programme, offered by the university’s Department of Afroasiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice, in collaboration with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (SASSETA), is the only one of its kind in South Africa.

“The numbers that we are talking about here, if one looks at the needs of the country as such, is a small fraction,” said Advocate Simon Jiyane, Deputy Director General: Court Services in the Department of Justice.

“This is our first programme in collaboration with the UFS and I am hopeful it will lay a very solid foundation for other such programmes to follow.”

The diplomas were conferred by Prof. Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: External Relations at the UFS, on behalf of the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jonathan Jansen.

He urged the students to use their skills as qualified court interpreters in the context of the challenges that face South Africa such as HIV/Aids, racism, transformation, unemployment, poverty, job losses, and many other such challenges.

“This is the reality we are faced with, all of us,” he said. “It requires skilful and morally upright people to address it adequately and effectively. You are adding up to the number of skilful people in our country and that means you have a critical role to play.”

He said the UFS, as a societal structure, is equally affected by those challenges because of being accountable to and economically dependent on society.

He also urged the students to use their skills to make contributions to the processes of transformation that are underway at the UFS.

“For instance, the UFS as a national asset has to transform to that level of being a true national asset. We need your full participation in this process so that we can together ensure the relevance of this university as a true South African university,” he said.

Advocate Jiyane urged universities to also look at some of the initiatives that the government takes to improve service delivery. One such initiative is a pilot project focusing on the use of indigenous languages in courts.

“Its aim is to ensure that our courts begin to recognise all official languages in terms of conducting their business,” he said.

“It is our responsibility as a department that, through this project, we begin to build those languages so that they are on a par with the other languages that are being utilised in our courts.”

The department has permanently employed two of the students who received their diplomas, while one of them, Ms Nombulelo Esta Meki, was awarded a bursary by SASSETA to study for a BA in Legal Interpreting. Ms Meki was the top achiever of the programme with an average of 86%.

Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za  
3 March 2010

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