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‘Follow your dreams’ – Boitumelo Sehlotho on participating in global Miss Supranational pageant

09 December 2022 | Story Samkelo Fetile | Photo Supplied

Boitumelo Sehlotho, a fourth-year Bachelor of Accounting student at the University of the Free State (UFS), is part of a long line of UFS students who have represented their country on the global stage. Sehlotho, who was also named the Face of Lesotho in 2019, represented her country in the 2022 edition of the global Miss Supranational pageant in July.

Sehlotho, who is an aspiring model, dancer, netball player, and an advocate for mental health and self-acceptance, participated in the Miss Supranational pageant held in Poland.

Her journey

Sehlotho started her pageantry journey in 2019, when she won the Face of Lesotho title and reigned for two years (2019 and 2020) because of the pandemic. Miss Supranational was her first international pageant. “Lesotho was making its debut, so I was the first person to represent the country on the pageant.”

Being part of an international pageant as the first person to represent a country that most participants had not heard of required hard work and persistence. “I learned a lot of skills and values from that experience. Having to represent Lesotho gave me so much joy, pride, and confidence. I was inspired to be an inspiration to a lot of young people who are dreamers. We can achieve anything we set our minds to.”

Pageantry as an eye-opener

She decided to compete because she felt like pageants can be educational. “They teach the exact same skills as sports: goal-setting, a can-do attitude, working under pressure, and I have always loved pageantry. Being surrounded by a group of power woman who have the urge to make a difference drives you to work on being a better person as well. Therefore I believed being part of an international pageant would create such a platform for me. It will open my eyes and mind to a different perspective of life. And it did.”

She believes every experience in life, whether bad or good, helps you grow. “I was also inspired to participate because I knew I would not return home as the same person who had left, whether I had won or not. That’s the beauty of pageantry: strangers become friends, you get educated about new cultures, you travel the world, you discover new things about yourself, you get to see that there is so much more to life than what you know, and that experience is priceless.”

Although her priority is to finish her Accounting articles and be a professional chartered accountant, she also wants to further pursue pageantry. “I would like to one day have my own accounting firm in at least three different countries, but I also believe Miss Supranational was just the beginning of my pageantry career. Therefore I am working on improving myself and my craft for bigger international pageants like Miss Grand International or Miss Universe.”

She urges other students interested in pageantry to follow their dreams. “You have the power within your reach to create what you desire. As a young person you need to dream. If it does not sound ridiculous to your friends then you are not dreaming enough. Pageantry will help you discover that there is so much to life, so much that the world has to offer that you are yet to discover. You will learn, you will grow, you will make memories, you will live and feel alive. If it is your passion, go for it.”

If she could gain any one ability or quality, she would want to be a polyglot. “I love travelling, and it would be amazing to be able to speak and understand all the languages of the countries I would love to visit. Comprehension is key to better relationships with people. Also, I hope to travel the world, at least 30 countries minimum, before I turn 30.”

It is okay to take your time

She concluded by saying, “We live in a generation that romanticises ‘hustle’ and moving forward as quickly as possible when it comes to careers and our success within them. But there is no point in rushing quickly towards a life that will not inspire you or fulfil you. It is okay to slow down, it is okay to take the time you need. You are in no rush to figure out your own soul. It is never too late to start over, it is never too late to change your mind, it is never too late to give up on the dreams you thought you wanted for ones that genuinely excite and challenge you. It is okay to take your time.”

Following in her footsteps, Lerato Pitso, a Bachelor of Social Sciences student at the UFS, will represent Lesotho in the next Miss Supranational competition, to be held in Poland in 2023. Thato Mosehle, a graduate from the Faculty of Health Sciences, was runner-up in the 2021 Miss Supranational pageant. Rolene Strauss, also a UFS student, won the coveted Miss World title in 2014.

News Archive

Agriculture must adapt to change

2008-11-28

At the launch of "50 years of agriculture" at the UFS were, from the left: Mr Corwyn Botha: Chairman: Agri Business Chamber and Managing Director: Cape Agri Group, Mr Motsepe Matlala, President of NAFU, Mr Hans van der Merwe, Executive Head: Agri SA, Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk: Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS, and Mr Sugar Ramakarane, Head: Department of Agriculture, Free State Province.
Photo: Lacea Loader

“The biggest factor driving agriculture today is change. Our major challenge is to adapt to this changing environment.” This was stated by Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) during the recent celebration of the faculty’s “50 years in agriculture”.

Prof. Van Schalkwyk stated that the most important changes include power relationships in supply chains, consumer demand, new products and technology in agriculture, government action and developments in neighbouring states. “At the moment there is very little cooperation between small-scale farmers, small-scale farmers and commercial farmers and farmers and processors. There are also low levels of processing, low levels of value adding and a lack of creative thinking in agriculture," he said.

“This must change – we need comprehensive agricultural support and new business ideas in agriculture. We need better infrastructure, value chain financing and improved institutional support,” he said.

Speaking about agriculture and institutional co-operation in the Free State, Mr Sugar Ramakarane, Chief Director of the Free State Department of Agriculture, said that the UFS plays a vital role in bringing together organised agriculture in the province. “The responsibility of transforming our economy cannot be done by government alone. We need partners like the UFS to assist us with bringing together the two most important stakeholders of the agricultural sector, namely the National Farmers’ Union (NAFU) and Free State Agriculture. You can assist us with harnessing co-operation and providing practical solutions," he said

Mr Ramakarane said that his department is aware of the university’s good work with emerging farmers. “But, I want to encourage the university to help us with skills transfer and the development of the emerging farmers. You can play a vital role in developing a mentorship programme. Yours remains a central and critical role of being torch bearers in guiding the transformation agenda of our country," he said.

In his contribution on the challenges of small scale farmers in South Africa and the role of the university, Mr Motsepe Matlala, President of NAFU, said that unity in organised agriculture and working together with other stakeholders has become even more crucial with regard to the global challenges now faced by the country. “The university should take the lead in guiding all farmers on how to respond to, among others, the global financial turmoil and politics, developments in trade negotiations, food prices, input costs and the availability of energy," he said.

“If the UFS, and more specifically the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, is to continue to play a leading role in academia as well as in the production of research that matters to the growth and development of this country, it must adopt an approach that seeks to harness the capacity of everyone in an inclusive manner. The strides already made in this regard must be applauded,” Mr Matlala said.

Speaking on the future challenges in agriculture and the role of universities, Mr Hans van der Merwe, Executive Head of Agri SA said that South Africa has not spent money on agricultural development in a long time. “We must increase our product capacity in the agricultural sector. Universities must focus on cultivating enough expertise and the skills necessary to manage the resources and capacity needed," he said. In his view, South Africa must also focus on technological advancement in agriculture as this has also been neglected in the past. He urged universities to provide best-practice education and to look at international trends in agricultural training. “That is why we should not only focus our attention on South Africa, but on southern Africa,” Mr van der Merwe said.

In conclusion to the day’s programme, Mr Corwyn Botha, Chairperson of the Agricultural Business Chamber, Managing Director of the Cape Agri Group and former Kovsie stated that: “If you want to be an example of leadership, people around you must do better because you are there. A university should evaluate itself in this context. You cannot create solutions to problems with the same attitude in which the problems were created."

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
28 November 2008

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