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African Studies Program

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  • Remembering Mpolo

Remembering Mpolo

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Headshot picture of a woman.

Mpolokeng Lesetla was a graduate student in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University. Mpolo was completing a third Master’s degree, which focused on Human Rights and International Studies, when she succumbed to her battle with cancer recently. Mpolo leaves behind a daughter, whom she had hoped to put through college.

Mpolo was a well-loved graduate student Associate Instructor who taught isiZulu language at all levels for the IU African Studies Program. She came to IU to pursue an MA in Applied Linguistics/Second Language Acquisition and would also finish an MA in African Studies, having previously earned honors pursuing her BA from The University of KwaZulu-Natal in Public Policy and Social Development.

This past year, as she struggled with her health, she chose to put her students first, focusing her energy on teaching her students --while taking incompletes in her own courses. That was who she was. She could have prioritized her studies and finished her MA, but she gave what energy she had to make sure students in her care would be fully supported.

Friends of Mpolo are launching a Go Fund Me campaign to give back to Mpolo through raising funds for her daughter, Lehakwe, to study when she returns back to South Africa. Mpolo wanted her daughter to have the wealth of education that Mpolo valued so very much.

Please consider giving to Lehakwe's educational fund in memory of Mpolo. Ngiyabonga. Thank you.

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