ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership Award
Bonolo Molefe from Lewis-Clark State College has been named the 2023 ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership Award winner.
Molefe joined LC State in the spring of 2020 as a freshman from Botswana. It was a dream for her to finally be in the US college system. She wanted an opportunity to receive an education to benefit her family in Botswana. When Covid impacted college sports and put a halt to activities in March of 2020, she remained on campus. During that time, she was resourceful and found ways to occupy her time, and made it through the next four months being in "isolation" when the campus was shut down except for the take out meal services.
Since then, Molefe has made an impact on her own experiences. She applied and was awarded the American Red Cross Collegiate Leadership Program (scholarship and internship) in the summer of 2022 and she attended the training in Washington D.C. with other awardees from numerous NAIA institutions. Since then, she has coordinated three blood drives on campus, specifically on the indoor courts located on campus. In two of those drives, the collection total exceeded expectations.
As an individual on partial scholarship, Molefe had to work part time to supplement her scholarship to meet college expenses. Because of this, she works up to the maximum allowable hours (20 a week) as a tennis instructor, indoor facility staff member and with Sodexo, the contracted campus dining service. As if that is not enough to fill her days, in addition to her classes, tennis practices and work, Molefe has made time to volunteer at various charitable and community events. She recognizes that it is important to "give back" to the community and has expressed numerous times that she is very grateful for the opportunity accorded to her to better her life that she had in Botswana.
On the court, she has learned to transition from playing tennis as an individual sport to one of a team culture. Her experience and maturity has led her to play a mentorship role to some of the new players to the team. Often times, she has been seen helping her teammates in various situations. She has provided guidance and provided assistance with rides to the store and often participated in the team's dinner and off court gatherings.
Molefe is very self disciplined to complete her responsibilities, but she has always made time to help out anyone in times of need. She sees the bigger picture to be kind, to be supportive and always lend a helping hand while completing her responsibilities.
A Letter From Head Coach Kai Fong
Bonolo is a stalwart of the tennis program. The more she does, the more she learns about what she is capable of doing. She has worked so tirelessly. Nothing has come easy for her. I admire her tenacity. She is the "LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD".
I remember worrying about her wellbeing during the Covid campus shutdown, just two months after her arrival onto US soil. Bonolo assured me that "I'll be fine Coach. I am in the US, where I want to be". Her gratitude resonated with me. She is maximizing her college experience opportunities by taking on a variety of projects. This is in addition to a full load of classes, being a member of the tennis team, and working two jobs to make ends meet. Her involvement with community service projects is astounding. I do not know how she fits everything into her days.
I am very proud of what she has done and what she will continue to do in all her numerous roles to impact others in a positive manner. It is humbling to see her as the recipient of this prestigious award, knowing that there are others who have made similar contributions in unnoticed ways.