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18 March 2022 | Story Nonkululeko Nxumalo | Photo Supplied
Uyleta Nel-Marais
Mrs Universe SA 2022, Uyleta Nel-Marais.


Uyleta Nel-Marais, a former Law student from the University of the Free State (UFS), has been crowned Mrs Universe South Africa 2022 and will be representing SA at the Mrs Universe finals to be held in South Korea in April 2023.

With the aim of inspiring and empowering married and divorced women, crowning for the pageant took place in Pretoria last month. “I cried so much when I heard my name announced as the winner. The first thing I did was wave to my family; their support has been incredible and so important to me on this journey,” she said.

Nel-Marais, who graduated from the UFS in 2015, is the founder of the One Nation: Our Women and Children against Gender-Based Violence initiative, a practising attorney, and director at a law firm in Bloemfontein. When asked how she balances her work and modelling, Nel-Marais emphasised organisation and prioritisation. “You have to plan your week ahead, while also leaving that space open for anything unexpected. Be flexible and organise your time as far as possible.”


Modelling journey

Nel-Marais has never given modelling a thought before. “I was too busy studying,” she laughed. Her journey started in 2019 when she was invited to walk at a fashion show in Boksburg. She later walked the runway during New York Fashion Week in 2020 and took part in Top Model (now known as Opulent Models) that same year. “Modelling wasn’t something I planned, it just happened, and things picked up so quickly,” she stated.

Why she entered Mrs Universe SA

“I enjoy being on the ramp, it’s one of my favourite things to do. My heart has also always been with charities, even before the crown. With this pageant, I saw an opportunity to be on the ramp and make a difference. Why not, I thought. Mrs Universe SA’s biggest aim is to fight gender-based violence, so I knew that this was definitely for me,” she highlighted.

When asked what she would say to that woman who dreams of wearing the Mrs Universe SA crown one day, she replied: “Just do it! Take the chance and just do it. Life is short,” she said. “With COVID, we’ve seen how things can change in the blink of an eye. Stop doubting yourself, grab that opportunity and just do it. What do you have to lose?”

The beauty, who hails from Cradock in the Eastern Cape, hopes to inspire others to believe that they can be anything they want to be through hard work, tenacity, and determination.

Nel-Marais is part of a long list of UFS students who have represented the country in beauty pageants. In 2014, former UFS student Rolene Strauss was crowned Miss World during the international pageant held in the UK, and Thato Mosehle, another alumna, was runner-up in the Miss Supranational pageant held in Poland in 2021.


News Archive

US ambassador impressed by the UFS class of 2010
2010-01-19

 Mr Donald Gips

 “Students should learn to look beyond themselves to break up the barriers that keep them apart as human beings.”

This was the message of the USA ambassador to South Africa, Mr Donald Gips (pictured), to the first-year students who had enrolled at the university for the first time, during the grand opening of the Get Success@UFS Week at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

“Take the advantage of the opportunities you have here to grow outside yourselves, to prove the value of diversity and make this university a place where you will grow as an individual; and also contribute back to the community,” he said.

He said the UFS was a beautiful campus undertaking an incredible mission to change the face of South Africa.

“It is incredible and exciting to listen to the energy and to see the enthusiasm of all the students here to make this one of the best universities in the country and setting an example to the world,” he said.

On transformation at higher education institutions, Ambassador Gips said that, just like in the USA, transformation was incredibly difficult.

“It is an ongoing project that everyone has to keep working towards,” he said. “But I am quite convinced that being here today and watching the students and professors tackle this challenge, this university will succeed.”

Addressing the new students, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, quoted from one of the famous speeches by the great Martin Luther King Jr. and asked the question: “What is or can be the content of your character?”

He implored the students to judge fellow students by the content of their character and not by the colour of their skins.
“If we succeed with you, our country will succeed. If we succeed with you, our university will succeed,” he said

Prof. Jansen said it was the first time in the history of the UFS that students were integrated as human beings.

“This is the most integrated group of students the UFS has ever had,” he said.
He appealed to them to live their dreams, learn to embrace others, study seriously, make a difference; and guide their leaders.

The purpose of the Get Success@UFS Week is to acquaint the first-year students with the UFS and the academic opportunities that are available to them. The aim is to:
help students succeed academically;
help students to adjust to and get involved in the university environment;
assist parents and other family members in understanding the complexity, demands and services in the University environment; and
provide an opportunity to learn more about incoming students through formal and informal means.

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

 

 

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