As NUL crowns prettiest students as Miss NUL 2019 The Netherlands Hall was abuzz with revelry as the stunning Tiisetso Matete was crowned Miss NUL 2019 last Saturday after a gruelling contest against eight other beauties from the same institution. The aim of this year’s competition was to empower the beautiful students and help them prove that beauty, elegance and brains can reside in the same component. In the aftermath of the competition, an ecstatic Matete said she put in a lot of preparation ahead of the contest. “In fact I have been preparing for this contest since I entered varsity. This is actually the fourth title I win in beauty contests. I first developed the love for beauty pageants in high school. When I was doing my Form E, at Lesotho High School, I entered the Miss Saule beauty pageant,” she said, adding that she wanted to leave high school with a high note, even if it was not an academic one.

The most important traits she said that a real beauty queen should have are confidence and the love of pageants. When she was crowned Miss NUL over the weekend Matete had the shock of her life because she was not necessarily expecting it. But the support and love she gets from both her family and friends have always kept her going even through trying times. “I am grateful to God because had it not been for His grace, I wouldn’t have made it to where I am today,” she also said. About her dream as a beauty queen, she said: “I want to become the first Miss Universe to come from Lesotho, so I plan to use pageants like the Miss NUL as stepping stones towards achieving that goal. “Besides, I also want to make a difference by changing people’s lives through beauty pageants.” She added: “I have always wanted to be a motivational speaker so contesting also helps build my confidence and ability to speak in front of multitudes of people. Basically, I want to be known as somebody who changed people’s lives so much that my name will be in history books.”