Lesogo Goitsemang
Assistant Director of Administration and Recruitment, Limkokwing University, 2009
Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication) in collaboration with Curtin University of Technology, Australia
Even though both Swaziland and Botswana are located close to each other, I definitely experienced a great degree of culture shock when I was stationed there.
20 February 2009
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Crossing Borders and Breaking Boundaries
Written by Catalina Rembuyan
Lesogo Goitsemang, or Lesh as she is best known to her friends and colleagues, is Limkokwing University of Creative Technology’s official marketing representative to the African region and as such, is also an unofficial link of diplomacy between Africa and Asia. The graduate of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology’s Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications is making the most out of life by serving as the Assistant Director of Administration and Recruitment in the Marketing department of Limkokwing University.
“The basic job scope in my line of work is student recruitment. Nevertheless, we have gone even further than that, and are involved in the international development of entire countries as we set up campuses around the globe,” Lesh explains.
The basic job scope in my line of work is student recruitment. Nevertheless, we have gone even further than that, and are involved in the international development of entire countries as we set up campuses around the globe.
As the go-between for Limkokwing University and the rest of the world, Lesh’s job involves many different tasks. Some of the duties that Lesh has on her plate include the securing of agents to set up campuses, liaising with governments and the Education Ministries of different countries, as well as looking out for the welfare of students from Africa in Limkokwing University.
“It’s an exciting and challenging job because through this job, I am exposed to the different structures of different governments,” she said. “I also have the opportunity to deal directly with ministers and high-ranking members of the government, and the experience never fails to elate as well as intimidate me!”
Those four to five months in Swaziland have been priceless in training my personal growth, not just in terms of additional mentions in my curriculum vitae for my career, but also for my person. I’ve learned how to think quickly and strategise in a short period of time, to adjust to different mindsets and cultural perspectives, and to be spot-on and articulate at all times.
One of the most exciting challenges that she faced in her line of work was the transfer from Cyberjaya, where she has been studying, working and living for several years to Swaziland. “Even though both Swaziland and Botswana are located close to each other, I definitely experienced a great degree of culture shock when I was stationed there,” she confessed.
Lesh was in Swaziland for four to five months exploring the possibilities and working on the foundations of setting up the Swaziland branch of Limkokwing University. The experience there required a sense of adjustment on both the administrative level of job execution, as well as a cultural level.
“Swaziland is an absolute monarchy, which meant that I was working with a government structure that was different from anything that I had gotten used to in Botswana or Malaysia,” she said. “But even more than merely the challenge of learning to deal with a different government structure, Swaziland challenged me with its ability to maintain its African traditions and cultures in the face of increasing globalization and modernization.”
Explaining that she had to get used to the slightly different dialect spoken in Swaziland, Lesh went into the details of how much of Swaziland has remained distinctively African in identity, even as it adjusts and runs after modernization. Lesh pointed out the subtle differences that give Swaziland its unique identity – things such as the fact that people there still frequently wore traditional African attire – and how, as a Motswana, acknowledging this means reflecting on the loss that one experiences as one struggles to catch up with the demands of globalization and increasing Westernization.
It was very often overwhelming because I was going into Swaziland knowing that I am the face of Limkokwing University even as I communicated with high-ranking members of the Swaziland government. But I am grateful for it because it forced me to develop a strong amount of confidence and be very organized.
“Those four to five months in Swaziland have been priceless in training my personal growth, not just in terms of additional mentions in my curriculum vitae for my career, but also for my person. I’ve learned how to think quickly and strategise in a short period of time, to adjust to different mindsets and cultural perspectives, and to be spot-on and articulate at all times.”
“It was very often overwhelming because I was going into Swaziland knowing that I am the face of Limkokwing University even as I communicated with high-ranking members of the Swaziland government. But I am grateful for it because it forced me to develop a strong amount of confidence and be very organized,” she said.
When asked whether her experience as a student in Limkokwing University helped in her current line of work, Lesh’s response was a resounding yes. While she was still studying in Limkokwing University, Lesh was elected as Student Ambassador for the university and the seemingly small tasks that she had to handle while running the numerous student events on campus provided her the necessary training required to juggle the immense number of responsibilities she currently bears on her shoulders.
“My years as a student in Limkokwing University taught me the importance of – to use a cliché – thinking out the box and stepping out of your comfort zones,” Lesh said.
Defining success as measured by the number of lives you’ve touched as a person, Lesh, who is an ardent reader, believes that one of the most recognizable faces who can be used as such an example is Oprah Winfrey. “Her wealth is not gathered by a sheer drive for materialism alone, but based on the many people whose lives she has touched.”
When asked about what she plans to do beyond this, Lesh said that she did not have any particular fixed plans for the future, but she did know what she intend to achieve in her life.
“I want to be able to achieve something I can be proud of, something that I can stand back and say with confidence: I did that, Lesh did it,” she said. There is every reason to believe that she is on her way to making that goal come true.
For Lesh, a fall in an attempt to achieve something is not a failure. “Failure happens when you want something and you know how to get there, but then you don’t take the initiative to get out there and grab it,” she said.
