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Ups and downs, gains and losses, and an LLB degree later

19 April 2021 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Supplied

Tshepang 2_web read more — LLB graduate Tshepang Mahlatsi

‘Be loyal to your calling and the universe will locate you.’ This slogan is the mantra that University of the Free State LLM student, Tshepang Mahlatsi, lives by. It is also this slogan that carried him through a tumultuous journey during the pursuit of his LLB degree, which he received during the Bloemfontein Campus graduation ceremony on 19 April.

Mahlatsi began his LLB degree in 2014, but he had to take a break from his academics in 2016 after being clinically diagnosed with depression. He obtained his qualification in 2020. Mahlatsi said 2016 was a year that started on a high note for him as a third-year Law student and newly elected prime for Tswelopele residence, but quickly took a downward dive when he found himself overwhelmed by leadership demands – coupled with the simultaneous loss of loved ones and constant academic pressure. It ultimately led to a breakdown, forcing him to put his studies on hold. "I am graduating with my LLB after life-changing events in my undergraduate years – from student politics, depression, and PTSD, to starting a mental-health organisation and using both CUADS and Kovsie Counselling support services to come back to ‘normalcy’.”

He said the year-long break from his studies left him feeling discouraged as he watched his peers and classmates progress and graduate. "It was the most difficult thing to do to remind myself that I wasn't stupid."

"This journey exposed a lot about myself; it exposed that with determination and resilience, you can achieve what you set out to achieve. I had to persevere not because I wanted to, but because my family has never seen a graduate. I was doing this for them; to give them something they've never had,” he said.

UFS support services can save lives

Mahlatsi would like more students to make use of the UFS support services and not crumble under mental-health problems. "I hope to inspire students to use their support services and not be ashamed – services such as CUADS and Student Counselling and Development. I hope to inspire student leaders and students to realise that you can be a well-rounded student and still have challenges, but eventually, success awaits us all."

News Archive

UFS Leads ASGISA Training

2006-07-17

The University of the Free State (UFS) has been appointed as training service provider for the national programme for the creation of small enterprises and jobs in the second economy. This major national programme has a target of creating one million jobs for poor people in rural and peri-urban areas, which forms part of the government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (ASGI-SA). The main method of training will be through the formation of self-help groups and cooperatives with access to business support and micro finance.

Prof Frans Swanepoel, Director of the UFS Research Development Directorate, acts as advisor to the national programme leader, Ms Vuyo Mahlati. Dr Aldo Stroebel, senior researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate, has been appointed as programme co-ordinator, based at the UFS. Prof Basie Wessels, Director of the Mangaung-University Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP), has been appointed as the training co-ordinator and Ms Sazini Ndlovu as programme assistant based at the Independent Development Trust (IDT) in Pretoria.

Dr Stroebel has co-ordinated the development of a training programme, while Prof Wessels presented the “training-of-trainers” course at the MUCPP last month. This course was attended by trainers and trainer-assistants, identified and selected by the local economic development groups in each of the nine provinces, as well as trainers from Hand-in-Hand (HiH), an Indian non-governmental organisation acting as counterpart to the UFS in the provision of training.

Pictured here at the training session at the MUCPP were from the left: Prof Frans Swanepoel, Mr Gnanavel Mookkan (HiH), Dr Rendani Ralinala (IDT), Ms Sazini Ndlovu (national programme assistant), Mr Chinnaiah Meenakshisundaram (HiH), Dr Aldo Stroebel, Ms Vuyo Mahlati (national programme leader) and Prof Basie Wessels.

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