The 20-year-old BCom Chartered Accountancy student from the Vanderbijlpark Campus is not allowing the attention that comes with being in the spotlight to go to her head.

 

Apart from being a Golden Key Society member, Karabo is chairperson of the the student organisation of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and a brand ambassador for ICT company VTC Holdings and clothing brand Mandacosia.

 

How the journey started

 

Born and bred in Kwaggafontein in Mpumalanga, Karabo started her pageantry journey in 2016 when she was second princess in the Miss Kwaggafontein contest.

 

From there she won a string of beauty titles including Miss Tweefontein Cultural 2017, Miss Phola Mall Public Choice 2018, Miss Teen Tshwane Region 7 Second Princess 2019, Finalist for Miss Jozi 2019, Miss On-Campus Second Princess, Finalist for Miss Campus 2021 and the current reigning Miss Kwaggafontein 2019/20.

 

Build yourself by building others

 

Karabo says being a beauty pageant titleholder comes with many character-building responsibilities.

 

“Beauty pageantry stretches you and builds your character. It causes you to believe in endless possibilities and to use the title to further important social causes.

 

“This resonates with me as my mother taught me that we build ourselves by building others because service to humanity is service to God.”

 

She says beauty pageants also build self-confidence and skills in communication, leadership and networking, and provide a platform for participants to voice their opinions and be heard on different levels.

 

Put your heart into it

 

“I'm very passionate about using platforms such as pageants to encourage those coming after me to never stop believing in themselves and to advocate for causes close to their hearts,” says Karabo.

 

“Encouraging student participation in campus initiatives is what I’m advocating for in the current year.”

 

Karabo notes that a beauty queen does not only wear her crown with her head, but with her heart as well. “This implies that she must be willing to work tirelessly with unflinching commitment to fulfil her duties as a titleholder.”