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UFS shines light on bright matriculant stars

18 February 2020 | Story Nomonde Mbadi | Photo Charl Devenish

Star of Stars Gala evening — Attending the Star of Stars gala dinner, were from the left: Mar'c Scholtz, Chairperson of the Star of Stars competition; Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor; Kamohelo Mphuthi, Star of Stars 2019/2020 winner; MEC for Treasury in the Free State, Mrs Gadija Brown; and Nomonde Mbadi, Director: Student Recruitment Services

An evening among the stars, celebrating some of the Free State’s brightest learners. This was the backdrop for the annual University of the Free State (UFS) Star of Stars competition gala dinner held on 1 February. The event, hosted by the Department of Student Recruitment Services, recognises Grade 12 learners from quintile 1, 2 and 3 schools in the province, especially those from rural communities.

In its fourth year of existence, the Star of Stars competition rewards learners for academic performance, leadership achievement, and community involvement. The top-ten entries are selected through an adjudication process, with the winner verified by external evaluators.

Recognising top matriculants in the Free State

Recognised for his achievements in the 2019 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, Kamohelo Mphuthi, a former learner from Leifo-Iziko Combined School in Reitz, walked away with the Star of Stars 2019/2020 title. Kamohelo is currently enrolled at Kovsies for a BSc degree majoring in Actuarial Science. In his acceptance speech, the Karee Residence student said, “In everything that you do, strive for nothing but perfection. I hope to be a leader who is an academic, who is affable and approachable, and a leader who inspires those who came before me as well as the future winners”.

A new category was introduced for the first time – Sparkling Personality. The finalists chose the one star that lit the room, was friendly with everyone, with a sparkling personality. The winner was Bianca Mafukama from Tsebo Secondary School in Phuthaditjhaba.

Nomonde Mbadi, Director: Student Recruitment Services, said entries for the 2019/2020 competition were of an exceptionally high standard. “Five learners from the top-ten group were part of the provincial top-hundred learners in the past NSC examination.”

Improving the lives of those living in rural communities

She said the competition is a unique recruitment initiative driven by the Department of Student Recruitment Services and supported by the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Kovsie Counselling, Student Affairs, and Mr Joe Serekoane from the Faculty of the Humanities, to guide and support learners through career counselling, mentorship, and adapting to campus life.

Addressing the audience at the gala dinner, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, encouraged the top-ten finalists to pursue their dreams with a relentless courage and an aspiration to succeed. Also in attendance, was the MEC for Treasury in the Free State, Mrs Gadija Brown, who complimented the University of the Free State as a partner in improving the lives of those living in rural communities.

All the finalists received bursaries from the Kovsie Alumni Trust and the University of the Free State, as well as gifts from the Fidelity Foundation, Bloempapier, and the Bloemfontein Business Chamber. Hill Mchardy and Herbst Attorneys awarded internships to two finalists enrolled for the LLB programme. To add dazzle and sparkle, Bridal Co and Euro Suit sponsored each finalist with formal attire.

Kamohelo Mphuthi, Winner of the Star of Stars competition

News Archive

'Structures of Dominion and Democracy' by David Goldblatt at the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery

2015-08-03

Photograph by David Goldblatt, On August 16 2012 South African Police shot striking mineworkers of the Lonmin platinum mines, killing 34 and wounding 78 within a radius of 350 metres of this koppie, where the men used to meet. Seventeen of the men, seeking shelter among boulders from police fire, were shot with seemingly lethal intent, some with their hands up in surrender, none were given medical assistance for their wounds. Beyond is the Lonmin smelter, which stood idle during the strike. Marikana, North-West Province, 11 May 2014.

The University of the Free State, in partnership with the Goodman Gallery, presents the exhibition, 'Structures of Dominion and Democracy', by renowned South African photographer David Goldblatt.

This exhibition, which runs from 13 July to 7 August 2015 on the Bloemfontein Campus, is dedicated to the series, “Structures”, one of the major bodies of works by Goldblatt. For over three decades, Goldblatt has travelled South Africa, photographing sites and structures weighted with historical narrative: monuments, private, religious and secular, which reveal something about the people who built them. These sites allow us a glimpse into the everyday. Each place is a repository, a landscape containing an epic story that has involved whole communities: the experience sometimes told through the memorialising of remarkable individuals.

The exhibition, Structures of Dominion and Democracy, traverses two distinct eras in South Africa history. As Goldblatt explains: "Over the years, I have photographed South African structures, which I found eloquent, of the dominion which Whites gradually came to exert over all of South Africa and its peoples. That time of domination began in 1660 when Jan van Riebeeck ordered a cordon to be erected of blockhouses and barriers that would exclude the indigenous population from access to the first European settlement in South Africa and its herds, lands, water, and grazing. The time of domination ended on the 2nd of February 1990, when, on behalf of the government and the Whites of South Africa, President FW de Klerk effectively abdicated from power. Beginning in 1999 and continuing to the present, I have photographed some structures that are eloquent of our still nascent democracy. In the belief that, in what we build we express much about what we value, I have looked at South African structures as declarations of our value systems, our ethos.”

Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, UFS Sasol Library
University of the Free State
206 Nelson Mandela Ave
Bloemfontein

Gallery hours:
Monday to Friday 08:30 – 16:30

Entrance: Free
Enquiries: 051 401 2706, dejesusav@ufs.ac.za

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