Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
14 October 2020 | Story Thulaganyo Molebalwa | Photo Supplied
Thulaganyo Molebalwa recently graduated and is looking forward to entering the workforce and learning from the best in the different industries.
My name is Thulaganyo Molebalwa. I recently graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Governance and Political Transformation from the University of the Free State (UFS), and I am currently job hunting. I am looking forward to entering the workspace and developing as an individual while learning from the best in the different industries that I will hopefully become exposed to. 

When I reflect on my varsity career, I cannot help but remember the beginning of the second semester of 2018. I thought that I had one more semester left at the UFS, but then later found out that I still had a full academic year ahead of me in 2019. Learning this news nearly broke me; I was told that I still had a few outstanding modules to complete, and that I did not have enough credits to graduate. 

This was the beginning of a downward slope that left me in a very dark place in my life. At the time, it felt like everything was working against me, and it didn’t help that all my peers were graduating and progressing while I felt stuck. I developed a very negative mindset and slept a lot in an attempt to cope with my stress; I avoided people/public spaces because I just wanted to be alone. 

I started confiding in my family and friends about how I felt, and how everything had taken a heavy toll on my mental health and well-being. 

Look, it was not easy, but having someone to talk to has made a big difference and helped me get back to my normal daily routine, doing things I enjoyed. I even started a YouTube channel.

As students, we are often faced with different challenges. The university environment can become quite stressful for most people, because we are forced into vulnerability through our academics, methods of studying, and our social lives. 

I think it is important to prioritise your mental health at university by using resources such as the UFS Department of Student Counselling and Development to learn and be more aware of issues around mental health. I believe this would help a lot of students to realise that they are not alone and that there is help available.

News Archive

Curtains fall on Darwin lecture series
2010-02-03

The University of the Free State (UFS), in collaboration with the Central University of Technology and the National Museum in Bloemfontein, will host the final lecture of the Charles Darwin lecture series entitled "The story of life and survival" as part of the 200-years celebration of Charles Darwin’s birthday on Thursday, 11 February 2010.

The lecture titled Trends in evolution and their bearing on the future of humankind will be presented by Prof. Bruce Rubidge and Prof. Terence McCarthy from the University of the Witwatersrand and co-authors of the book The Story of Earth and Life.

Last year, when the year-long lecture series started, several lectures were presented by academics from various departments at the UFS.
Prof. Marian Tredoux and Mr Johan Loock from the Department of Geology presented lectures on The origin of our solar system and The geological evolution of our planet: the first billion years, respectively.

"Transitions and extinctions" was the topic of another lecture presented by Dr Jennifer Botha-Brink, a paleontologist at the National Museum and affiliated to the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the UFS. She discussed the causes of mass extinctions and their effects on the world's organisms.

The Department of Genetics also made their contribution to this lecture series in the form of two lectures on the genetic foundation of evolution presented by the Head of the Department, Prof. Johan Spies and Prof. Paul Grobler, an Associate Professor in the Department.

Next followed lectures on the evolution of the information and communication technology that were presented by the Departments of Communication Science, Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science and Informatics, which focused on communication in a manufacturing environment, the knowledge explosion and the broadband universe.

This final lecture of the series will be presented in the CR Swart Auditorium on the UFS Main Campus at 18:00. Limited seats are available and bookings can be made by contacting Ms Isabel Human at humanci@ufs.ac.za or 051 401 2427 before or on Monday, 8 February 2010.

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

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept