Pretoria - The University of Pretoria can proudly boast that it produces not only brains but beauty too.
The institution welcomed back home, for the third time in a row, one of its own alumni holding the title of the reigning Miss South Africa.
This year's winner is from Tzaneen, Limpopo. The 23-year-old Ndavi Nokeri beamed with pride as she was warmly welcomed back into the institution she had graduated from months earlier with a BCom degree in investment management.
Nokeri, who was crowned Miss SA at the Sun Arena at Times Square in Pretoria in August, took the baton from another two UP alumni, 2020 Miss SA, Shudufhadzo Musida, and Lalela Mswane, who held the title in 2020 and 2021.
Speaking at the welcome home ceremony at the UP Future Africa campus, Nokeri said it was a special moment for her to come back to the university after she graduated in May.
“This reaffirms that everything I have been doing has not been in vain and is being recognised. Even through my university experience, I would always try to keep busy with external activities such as being a mentor and part of the committee, to be able to have that added confidence I needed to help push me to the end.”
Nokeri said she was inspired by seeing other women winning as it was through that representation that she was able to see that it was possible for her to win too.
Moving forward, she said her focus would be on pushing her Ed-Unite advocacy campaign as she had seen how many doors education had opened for her in comparison to others who were not as fortunate to have the same opportunities.
“I did nothing special, except that I was born into the right circumstances. Education transformed my life, while I saw my peers were left trying to make ends meet in a more difficult way due to the lack of access. So being given this platform, I feel like I have a responsibility to ensure I give back.”
Vice-chancellor for the University, Professor Tawana Kupe, said they were proud that Nokeri had lived up to the priorities of all their graduates to continue what they had learnt on campus, especially that of giving back to society by “paying it forward and not later”.
“We are part of the society we come from and need to find ways to give back to others by giving them a helping hand and a little bit of a push when they feel stuck.”
Kupe added that the university would partner with Nokeri’s Ed-Unite campaign on its journey to assist others as it was similar to their UP Alumni Connect platform, which allowed other students to get guidance on careers or studies.
“Our role is to continue to help and support each other in our mutual passion for opening the doors of education even wider to all the young people of South Africa. We look forward to seeing what great things you achieve next,” he said.
Pretoria News