Oratile Mogae is a fourth-year student in Marketing and Entrepreneurship and has a strong passion for the Black student experience at Saint Mary’s. Currently serving in the role of Black Student Coordinator within the Black Student Advising centre, Mogae works to enhance and engage the Black student experience through student-led programming and initiatives. She strives to create a space for “Black students to come together, learn from each other, network, have fun and just be ourselves.”
Under the Student Affairs and Services portfolio, the Black Student Advising centre (BSA) is a support hub for the Black student community at SMU. Mogae describes it as “a place to discuss any challenges or concerns, whether academically, at home or in life in general.” She emphasizes that “the BSA is a place where you don’t have to worry about what people think about you. It’s a safe space to talk and get support.”
Mogae also recently co-founded the Saint Mary’s University Black Student Society (BSS) and currently serves as the society’s inaugural president.
“It is history that we finally have a Black Student Society,” she says proudly. “It was important for us to start it before Black History/African Heritage month to create a space for all Black students to come together.”
SMU is fortunate to have established societies for African students and Caribbean students, however, Mogae notes that “some students don’t belong to a specific ethnic group while others represent more than one Black identity. Establishing a Black Student Society was an opportunity to broaden the scope of belonging for all Black students.”
Mogae was driven to help create a student society “to show our cultures, teach our histories and be unapologetically loud together…this can be the space where we learn from and grow with each other.”
As she prepares to complete her fourth year and transition out of school, Mogae reflects on what she has helped create, noting, “there can often be division amongst different Black groups, but the BSS is all about coming together to celebrate those differences.” She shares that her hope for the Black Student Society “is to unite Black students and become a community together at SMU; to uplift each other in a positive way.”