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UFS Sporting Legends: Kesa giving back to community that shaped her

12 August 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo UFS Photo Gallery

Kesa_Molotsane_web read more — Kesa Molotsane was a University of the Free State student, athlete, and is now a KovsieSport employee.

She is a proud product of the University of the Free State (UFS) and believes her own experiences enable her to make an even bigger difference in the lives of athletes.

Kesa Molotsane was a UFS student, a sportswoman, and as an employee she is giving back to the community that helped her achieve so much in her career.

The Officer at Kovsie Athletics probably understands the needs of athletes a little bit better than most, and this has helped her in her professional life.

“As an athlete myself and having been part of UFS student life, it helps me as an administrator to know exactly what athletes expect.”

Molotsane is a UFS Sporting Legends ambassador, and her journey is testament to the university’s impact on its alumni.

In the UFS Sporting Legends project, current and former Kovsie sports stars are celebrated by featuring their stories in a video and story series.

Athlete, ambassador, and administrator

“My job requires a certain level of experience, and it is good as an athlete to have gone through the same stages of competitive athletics.”

“Then you know what is expected of you as a manager, administrator, and leader,” says Molotsane.

Her duties, among others, include looking after the well-being of UFS athletes, such as entering them for meetings, organising races, making sure they have the correct apparel, and many other logistics.

She is still a professional athlete, but also contributes as an administrator by serving on different committees.

An example is the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Athletes Commission, where she is the Vice-Chairperson and serves as a link between her peers and ASA.

Career highlights

Molotsane reached many heights, but she had to work hard for it. “In my very first competition at USSA level as a UFS athlete, I finished eighth,” she says.

She is thankful and proud of progress made thanks to the UFS that helped her become a professional athlete.

Career highlights include winning the SPAR Women’s 10 km Challenge Grand Prix in her debut year in 2017 and representing South Africa at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships in 2019 where she ended 42nd overall and as the first South African.

And then the World Student Games in 2017: “It is one of the bigger platforms for a student, as it is like the Olympics for students.”

The versatile athlete was crowned UFS Sportswoman of the Year in 2017 and honoured with a Kovsie Ambassador Award at the 37th UFS Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumni Awards in 2019.

• Watch the video feature to get a glimpse of Molotsane’s journey. More features of UFS Sporting Legends ambassadors will follow over the next few months.

News Archive

Ford foundation funds higher education redesign

2005-06-23

The Ford Foundation has pledged a grant of almost R280 000 for redesigning higher education delivery at three campuses in the Free State.

According to Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the University of the Free State (UFS), the three campuses that will be affected by the strategic reconfiguration of higher education delivery are the Qwaqwa campus at Phuthaditjhaba and the Vista campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein and the Welkom campus of the Central University of Technology (CUT).

Prof Fourie says the three campuses were all affected by the restructuring of higher education, in line with the National Plan for Higher Education.

The Qwaqwa campus of the UFS that was part of the former University of the North was incorporated into the UFS in January 2003. Likewise the Bloemfontein campus of the former Vista University was incorporated into the UFS in January 2004.

The Welkom campus of the CUT was also part of the former Vista University and was incorporated into the CUT in January 2004.

“These incorporations pose a challenge in that we have to think creatively about the best ways of using these three campuses to service the higher education, training, skills development and human resource needs of the Free State,” Prof Fourie said.

“The grant from the Ford Foundation will primarily be used to draw up strategic funding proposals for the three campuses. The Qwaqwa campus of the UFS is a priority to us given the poverty and unemployment in a largely rural area of the Free State,” said Prof Fourie.

“A detailed consultation process will be undertaken in the Qwaqwa campus sub-region which will hopefully result in a comprehensive and a coherent suite of higher education activities being established on this campus,” said Prof Fourie.

“It is envisaged that the Qwaqwa campus will become a centre of excellence in the area of rural development. This vision is based on a focused integration of the core functions of a university – teaching, research, and community service – around the issue of rural development,” said Prof Fourie.

Prof Fourie said that various educational offerings including among others short courses, bridging and foundation programmes, and degrees could be offered, with a particular focus on providing courses of relevance to students from the local rural community and students from elsewhere with an interest in focusing on rural development studies.

She said the redesign of the three affected campuses is being managed as a project of the Free State Higher Education Consortium (FSHEC) consisting of all the higher education institutions operating in the Free State.

“The aim of the project is to establish how the Qwaqwa and Vista campuses of the UFS and the Welkom campus of the CUT can be used effectively to meet regional education and training needs, to serve the strategic priorities of the two higher education institutions and contribute to the sustainable development and poverty alleviation of the region,” she said.

The planning for the Vista campus of the UFS is still in an early stage. “We are looking at the possibility of developing this campus into a hub of education and training opportunities for Bloemfontein and Free State region. Further plans will be communicated later in the year,” said Prof Fourie.

Media release

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel: (051) 401-2584
   Cell: 083 645 2454
   E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

23 June 2005

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