Bokao Tshoganetso '25

Name: Bokao Tshoganetso

Hometown: Kanye, Botswana

UWC School: UWC Maastricht in Maastricht, the Netherlands

Majors: Accounting and Business Marketing

Tell us about yourself.

  • I absolutely love God. I'm a Jesus girlie.
  • I'm an only child with millions of cousins, so I have a big family nonetheless.
  • Purchasing perfumes is my favorite form of therapy.
  • I'm from a desert, but I'm obsessed with seafood.
  • My favorite place that I've traveled to so far is Portugal (gorgeous sceneries, best pastries and wine I've ever had).
  • I love romanticizing my friendships.
  • Before Concordia, I was a competitive fiction writer and I played field hockey and netball (very popular in Southern Africa).
  • I realized I don't have enough hobbies, so I'm currently learning how to roller-skate (a very humbling experience).

Tell us about your application and enrollment journey to Concordia. How did you make your choice?

I spoke with some international students at Concordia before applying and I realized there were so many UWC alumni at the college. Moving to yet another continent and making friends from scratch sounded nerve-wracking, so knowing there would be some like-minded students around put me at ease and advanced Concordia to my top five colleges to apply to. Once the acceptance letter came in, the scholarship offer sealed the deal — it was better than the ones offered by the other colleges I was considering.

What have your classes and academics been like at Concordia? 

Concordia is a liberal arts college, meaning you will be taking some humanities classes in addition to your major(s)/ minor(s). Surprisingly, this is where I've connected with students from all walks of life and learned so much about myself and others. Professors are very supportive and understanding once you exercise honest communication and initiative. And there are so many resources on campus to help students excel academically. Finally, remembering that iron sharpens iron and surrounding myself with students with similar academic, professional, and personal goals like mine has helped me stay on track and excel. And the professors are very well connected as many of them worked in corporate or own companies before being professors here, so you get great insight and internship intel.

Have you had any cool opportunities outside of the classroom?

I've interned at Titan Machinery as an audit intern, and I've led the African Student Association on campus (where I serve as the president) on a series of volunteer opportunities with Global Refuge.

What student organizations are you involved with and what does that look like?

I am the president of the Concordia African Student Association. Essentially, I represent the association as the primary contact and external spokesperson to college administration, advisors, and community contacts, I facilitate executive board meetings, I prepare and submit semi-annual reports required by the Student Engagement Office, and I supervise assigned projects and operations of the association’s committees. It's an unpaid opportunity that takes up a lot of extracurricular time, but it's all worth it because it is a cause I value.

I served on the Student Government Association (SGA) as the chief of operations, I represented the student body on the college Budget Planning Committee, I chaired the Special Projects and Initiatives Fund (SPIF) Committee where I analyzed the value of funding requests and allocated funds to projects, I balanced the Student Government Association budget and managed accounts payable procedures for all internal members of SGA, and I analyzed spending and developed the Student Activity Fee for the following academic year to present to the Budget Planning Committee.

What has been your favorite Concordia tradition?

I love Homecoming Week. With Homecoming, there are multiple events that I get to go to with friends and actually celebrate and represent my college, like the first football game and the Homecoming Parade where I get to join the International Student Organization and wave my country's flag as we walk down the road, and the bonfire where my friends and I watch the beautiful fireworks, sing chants with other Cobbers, and embrace our experiences and journey.

Do you have any advice for UWC students entering university?

  • When talking to admission officers, ask all the questions (there is no stupid question).
  • Reach out to your university counselors to connect you with UWC alumni who go to the schools you're interested in so you can talk to someone with firsthand experience.
  • If possible, do campus tours (virtual or in-person to get a feel of the campus).
  • If you enjoyed CAS in UWC, look for student organizations on the school's websites that you can join, as well as opportunities off campus around the area for volunteering.
  • Keep an open mind and remember that you have so much to offer after that chaotic but wholesome two years of the UWC experience.