The Big Read:Rolene's picture-perfect story

It has been a dark year, and the pun is intended. Then into our lives comes this bright, shining light from a place most South Africans would not be able to locate on a map.

The towns surrounding Volksrust, a place with fewer than 50000 souls, sound like familiar but faraway destinations - Amersfoort, Newcastle, Utrecht - yet the Mpumalanga locals knew exactly where they were and why they were marching towards the surgery practice of Dr Hennie Strauss; it was not for healing.

They came to celebrate the man's daughter - who had just shown up on their rural television stations as the new Miss World.

A text from one of my students inviting me to attend the Miss South Africa competition at Sun City came as a test. I was not big on beauty pageants and I was tired after a hard slog at work.

"Big picture," I reminded myself.

So off we went to that odd island of luxury surrounded by, well, nothing. The "big picture" was a young medical student named Rolene Strauss.

She had always struck me as different from most first years. She was unusually calm and confident. Unlike most first years, who tend to be somewhat nervous around their rector, Rolene could maintain a conversation as if we were old friends. Kind, respectful and generous to a fault, I knew this was a student I could rely on to help the team transform the university into a place that embraced all. She radiated a consciousness that there was something more to our humanity than the travails of the epidermis.

When it was down to the last five women, I was tipped off by some of the other competitors (and one of the judges) that she was a favourite. She stumbled on the final question - how many non-English speaking kids would instantly grasp the meaning of the word blasé? - and she lost to a Pretoria student.

Now for the hard part; I was to meet Rolene and her parents. She was calm and relaxed, with not a hint of disappointment. I will try again, maybe in two years' time, she said. No tears, hysterics or apologies - only praise for Melinda Bam, the winner.

Time whizzed by and I introduced Miss South Africa at a graduation ceremony, after which she came to greet me before departing for the Miss World competition in London.

Just before she shared the graduation stage with my guest speaker, Chad le Clos, I invited her to meet the world champion swimmer from Durban. As she strolled in I watched and enjoyed the shock and surprise that registered on his face as the stunning beauty took a seat next to him. These two young people make me proud - talented, humble, competitive and decent.

Next thing Rolene wins the Miss South Africa on the next attempt and now Miss World; the London bookies had her ahead for some time. The story behind this achievement is worth another look.

She was a test-tube baby, making her start in life a game of odds. She had to imagine a world far outside the limited horizons of Volksrust. She lost on a major stage but bounced back. There is something about such quiet determination that should inspire young women (and men) across the country.

I was not a big fan of pageants but through Rolene I have come to see how these competitions provide a platform for necessary messages - like the simple fact that education matters; that service to others matters; and that discipline and hard work matter.

Somebody sent me a tweet: "What about the message that physical beauty is the only thing that matters?"

I doubt that the thousands of young girls who will benefit from Rolene's keep-girls-in-schools project would reduce the range of her achievements to one thing - her physical appearance. The fact that a rural girl could study medicine and take on the world is the more powerful message that I suspect many youth will take away from their interactions with this amazing woman.

But there is another benefit for a country sagging under the weight of public scandal and incompetence - across race and class South Africans came together to celebrate Rolene's achievement and, in the process, we saw our better selves in that announcement: Miss World 2014 is South African. Yes, we won, not only Rolene.

We needed that good feeling at the end of a hard year.