Day 7: We made it a week!

 

Hello to everyone reading! 

My name is Madi and I am a junior at St. Thomas studying Finance & Real Estate. Today was certainly one of my favorite days thus far, as I was able to spend the majority of it reflecting and learning. I am going to jump right into our busy day since there is a lot to cover.  

 

We started this morning hopping on the tro tro and heading to the city of Labone to meet with Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. This was an amazing opportunity for all of us, since Professor Naana Jane is a highly distinguished and respected leader, specifically in academics and politics. She was born in Cape Coast, Ghana, and was the first female to hold the position of Vice-Chancellor in Ghana (2008-2012). Next she held the position of Minister for Education in Ghana, (2013-2017). Currently, Professor Naana Jane is running to be the Vice President of Ghana! Needless to say, we are all endlessly grateful for the time we spent in discussion with such an intelligent individual (and the potential Vice President!).  

 

During our time with Professor Naana Jane, we discussed topics including politics, sustainability, leadership, education, and challenges she faced in her career as a woman. Throughout our conversation we gained a lot of valuable insight and she definitely gave us a lot to think about. Although there were several topics discussed, there were a couple of overarching themes that we certainly took with us. One that I found to be very important was when trying to solve a problem, one must go back to the root to understand why the problem is happening in the first place. If a problem is solved just on the surface, it has the potential to resurface again. Another piece of wisdom was to know what you are doing and - more importantly - why you are doing it. Having purpose in what you are doing, loving what you are doing and giving back are all encompassed in your “why”. Knowing the answer to this question can make a world of difference. Lastly, we learned that context is very important, and we can only gain this by being curious and asking questions. I will leave this with a question that I’ve been pondering since our meeting …Why are things the way we see them?  

 

Next on the agenda was a meeting with students from the University of Ghana. Our Program Director, Kwabena, is a lecturer at the University and invited some of his students to join us for a delicious meal at a vibrant outdoor restaurant, It was amazing to see new friendships being formed around the table. I’m sure you all can imagine the variety of topics discussed with 25+ college students together! During these conversations, many of us realized we are a lot more alike than we are different. We continued our conversations on the Tro Tro while we drove them back to the University. Before dropping them off, we exchanged contacts and hope to continue our once-in-a-lifetime friendships.

 

Last thing on the agenda was a meeting with Amazing Grace - yes, that is her real name - to learn more about nonprofit organizations here in Ghana. She shared with us information about the nonprofit she works with, the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), a global network of researchers and staff who advise African governments on economic matters. The information Amazing Grace shared with us will help get members of our group prepared for their volunteer work later this week. These students will be serving at Green Africa Youth Organization, a nonprofit organization working to promote community development and sustainability efforts here in Ghana.

 After a short catnap, we reconjoined for dinner and game night. It's time for us to unwind and spend some quality time together as a group. Shout out to Marlon for teaching us spaded - we should all be pros by the time we get home!  

Since we are giving shoutouts, thought it was about time to say "thank you" to our two professors who are making this trip possible. Here are the wonderful Dr. DeVinck and Marlon.

 

Madi