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Alumna congratulates graduates

17 November 2022 | Story Kutlwano Moqholosane | Photo Supplied

Opinion article by Kutlwano Moqholosane, alumna, University of the Free State. Moqholosane obtained her Bachelor of Social Sciences (Human and Societal Dynamics) in April 2022.

To the graduating class of December 2022 – let me start by congratulating you on your hard work! Acceptance to study at university is no small feat and being able to come out on the other side of it is a huge accomplishment to be proud of.

I graduated in April 2022, but my journey with the UFS started back in 2015 when I first sent my application forms. Back then, I was a young girl of 17 with dreams way bigger than me. I felt I could achieve anything I set my mind to.

I was accepted to the university and started in 2016, with the hope to finish in record time and get all the way to master’s and be a practising psychologist by 2022. Life had funny plans, but I'm so grateful for the academic and support staff at the university; they walked me through my mental health struggles and held my hand as I tripped here and there. Without the sensitivity and empathy shown to me by everyone here, I don't think I would eventually have become an alumna of the University of the Free State (UFS).

I had to take a semester off in 2017 after some soul-crushing struggles with mental illness. At the time, I thought it was all over; I could not see a way out of the fog, and I didn’t fully trust myself and my abilities anymore. In January 2018, I made my way back to Bloemfontein to try again anyway.

Between then and now, I have been admitted to a wellness facility a few times. This is unfortunately the reality of living with a chronic mental illness. With each admission, I came back with new and better coping strategies to help me through academics and life in general.

I'm especially glad to have had lecturers like Lindie Coetzee, Kali Nena and Dr Florence Tadi, Dr Lindi Nel, and Dr Jacques Jordaan, who all understood the delicate nature of depression, anxiety, and growing pains, and gave me countless opportunities to write tests, exams, and submit assignments.

What am I doing now?

Well, I'm still a Kovsie through and through! I'm taking a short break from academics, but that does not mean I’m done! I'm sending job applications to the university for the vacancies I might be a good fit for, and I will be applying for admission to the Psychology Honours programme as soon as possible.

I've found a community with the UFS, and I'm very hopeful that I'll still be able to take part and call it home.

My parting message to all of you: stumbling and falling is a fact of life. Some falls will be worse than others, but the biggest thing is that you get up every single time. You are not defined by any of the ways in which you ‘mess up’; you will always have the opportunity to grow into a better person than before.

Once again, congratulations!

News Archive

Minister praises the Faculty of Law

2009-02-13

At the launch of the Faculty of Law at the UFS's celebration of 100 years of jurisprudence, under the theme "Iurisprudentia 100", were, from the left: Judge Faan Hancke, Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Criminal and Medical Law and Chairperson of the UFS Council, Judge Lex Mpati, President of the Highest Court of Appeal, Mr Surty, Judge Hendrik Musi, Judge President of the High Court of the Free State, and Prof. Henning.
Photo: Stephen Collett

The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Enver Surty, has praised the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) for producing lawyers, academics, judges, etc. of great note.

Mr Surty was guest speaker this week on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein at the launch of the faculty’s celebration of a century of excellence in legal education, training and research at the UFS. The theme of the celebration is “Iurisprudentia 100”.

“The faculty has throughout its existence demonstrated its capability and capacity to produce scholars, legal practitioners, academics, judges, politicians etc, of great note. The university can take pride in the fact that, as an institution, you have done so well,” said Mr Surty.

Mr Surty said that our judiciary must be adequately qualified and it must be representative of our nation. “We must therefore have more aspiring judges in our midst and we must have a more representative judiciary – in race and gender. This is where an institution like the UFS can play an important role,” said Mr Surty.

Mr Surty also commented on the university’s engagement with its communities.
“The UFS has begun to recognise the importance of community engagement. Unless community engagement is part of your curricular activity we would not be able to produce the judges of the caliber we need who are better able to understand the social and economic context of our society,” he said.

According to Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the UFS, the faculty has a distinguished history of excellence in theoretical and practical legal education and training, which can be traced as far back as the establishment of the Grey University College in 1904.

Over the years, student numbers grew considerably and today the faculty has over 2 700 graduate and postgraduate students.

“The faculty prides itself on the fact that some of its students and lecturers went on to hold some of the highest offices in the country. Under its alumni are state presidents, ministers of state, administrators, judges of appeal, judges, rectors, professors and lecturers at the UFS as well as at other universities, advocates, attorneys and legal advisors – in private practice as well as in government,” said Prof. Henning.

The faculty’s “Iurisprudentia 100” celebrations will take place throughout the year with activities such as breakfasts for the various alumni groups of the faculty and a series of inaugural lectures. Cum Laude awards will also be
handed to Judge Lex Mpati, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, and Judge Louis Harms, Deputy President of the Supreme Court Appeal. The celebrations will be concluded in November with a prestige dinner.

Celebration programme:

26 February 2009: Visit by Prof. Fernand de Varennes (of the Murdoch Law School, Perth, Australia),
13 March 2009: Breakfast for all candidate attorneys
18 March 2009: Breakfast for judges and Cum Laude awards
15 May 2009: Breakfast for labour law certificate alumni
11 September 2009: Breakfast for diploma alumni (CFP)
16 October 2009: Breakfast for attorneys and advocates
9-12 November 2009: Inaugural and public lectures
13 November 2009: Centenary dinner

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
18 February 2009

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