Meet Gaogakwe Ofentse Moholoagae, a 21 year old from Bloemfontein.  Ofentse went to Brebner High School where she completed her matric in 2015 where she was also a school monitor.

After Matric she enrolled at the University of the Free State, where she studied BSc in Applied Statistics, majoring in Statistics and Accounting and she was the only person doing this course that graduated during the 2019 April Graduations, in her second year she received an award for being the best second year Statistics student.

She decided to study Applied Statistics due to her love for Maths because she believes that if you do something you love, you will do it wholeheartedly. Given that she loves numbers, she was bound to excel. “I wanted to do something I love, something that makes me happy every morning when I wake up and maths was the way to go” she added . In matric, she was not sure which career path to follow. She then went to her high school maths teacher, Mr Mthembu who told her to look into Applied Statistics and on the very same day Ofentse went home, did some research and thought to herself “Stats isn’t bad”. Initially she wanted to study Maths, but it would result in her being a teacher and she wanted more than that. Her second option was BCom Accounting but she eventually decided on Applied Statistics. “Stats is a bunch of numbers used to describe data,relationships, population. Pretty much everything” she said.

Her greatest achievements thus far include being the best second year Statistics student. “I did not know how to feel, I did not expect it because sometimes we work so hard and don’t know what to expect’’. That is an achievement that mad her parents really proud. Graduating is also one of her biggest achievements considering what she went through during her final year, “that moment was overwhelming, the entire ceremony”. Starting the #OversizedMovement was also one of her proudest moments as she did not expect that kind of reaction and support from her peers. She says hearing her parents tell her that they are proud of her is also something she regards as a “proud moment” as it is a moment she will never forget. Ofentse is also on radio and says it opens doors and lets people know who you really are.

Ofentse has a dream of working at StatsSA and working at a commercial radio station like YFM, Radio2000 and so forth.  She aspires to be a fashion icon as well, to walk the stage at the biggest fashion shows, to host events like the SAMAs and more importantly to motivate people to be comfortable in their own skin. “I want to put it out there that people should be comfortable in their own skin no matter what they are wearing.”

Ofentse says she had never thought of going into radio, until she saw a Facebook post about auditions. She told her mother about them and her mother encouraged her to go try it out. She describes herself as a person who “likes things” although she was nervous, she went for it and wasn’t expecting a callback. She learned about radio through Nkox, who’s the BozzaCutOfBreakfast host and Tiger, as they mentored her and others and that is where her love for radio started. Given that she is a very open-minded person, it was easy for her to adapt. She is currently a co-host on a Sunday drive show called LIVE Sessions.

The #OverSizedMovement is actually inspired by radio as she did a show on Fridays called “Red Talk” and she would wear oversized t-shirts, baggy clothes and she thought since she is always wearing such and she loves everything big from earrings, to shoes she decided to start the movement, “I knew I wanted to start something in fashion, so why not start #OverSizedFridays”.

Asked what the challenges are that she has faced while trying to pursue her career she answered “trying to make my parents and myself proud” and also having to balance time going out, doing the radio show and church. In 2018 during her final year she got TB. “That experience was the worst of my life, I was in hospital for almost two months” she was stressed about her final year. The thought of repeating it stressed her a lot and she would even ask her mother to bring her books along as she wanted to catch up with school work. It was a very difficult time, her body was rejecting medication and that moment seemed like her dreams were slowly fading away. At some point she had to write two exams on the same day. Ofentse is thankful for all these challenges because she got to look at her life and reflect.

Ofentse’s perseverance makes her a girl that rocks! A perfect example that when you do something you really love, nothing in this life will hold you back.