Kagiso Rhenoster – The Environment Made it Easy for Me to Learn
There's nothing like pre-season with your teammates. There's nothing like traveling with the soccer team. And there's NOTHING quite as good as being the regular season conference champs. Kagiso Rhenoster will tell you that. He knows how to appreciate what's important in life. If you ask this 2009 Caldwell College graduate what life lesson he learned at Caldwell, he'll tell you that the biggest life lesson he learned in the U.S. was to appreciate how much his parents sacrificed for him to be able to study in the U.S.
A native of Mmabatho, South Africa, "KG", as he is known to friends and family, has been very involved in various aspects of campus life, but soccer is definitely his "first love." A defender on the Men's Cougars team, he played in 54 games with 37 starts over four seasons at Caldwell, and recorded 14 points on two goals and 10 assists in his career. He scored the game-winning goal in Caldwell's season-opening 2-1 win over St. Anselm College in fall of 2008.
KG received a B.A. in Psychology on May 17. He has been a Resident Assistant in the dorms, worked in the Office of Admissions as a tour guide, and was a member of the International Student Organization and the Diversity Committee. Each fall semester he gave a talk to the College freshmen about the dangers of prejudice.
From the beginning at Caldwell, he appreciated the atmosphere at the College and the individualized attention. "Faculty and staff were tremendous from the get-go through the ups and downs and there were more ups than downs. The environment made it easy for me to learn."
Losing his father suddenly between his junior and senior years was very difficult, but he still takes comfort in knowing that he achieved what he set out to do for his father. "I wanted to show my Dad that I came here and did what I said I would do and I did it."
KG has plans to pursue his MBA degree at Caldwell College with several other goals in life. He would eventually like to return to South Africa and encourage grammar school children to dream big and do what they want to do in life. "My entire family has been very supportive to me and I just want to give back (in return) for their love and comfort they have given me throughout my years. Life would not be the same without my pillar of strength –my little brother!"