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.