THE VALEDICTORIAN

 THE VALEDICTORIAN

‘In God’s own Time, the least expected becomes the most celebrated’- Veronica Ewurama Agyiri

Early Days 

It appeared unending and extremely difficult, but we made it. Atlas, we have graduated.  I graduated with first class honors. I emerged the best female graduating student and ultimately the overall best graduating student of over 3000 graduating students. Also on the records of my department, I am the first student from my department to make it into the shoes of the valedictorian. 

Entering the university a few days before my birthday four years ago, I couldn’t simply imagine for the first time, I had crossed about 118.4 km from home in the Central region to the regional capital of Ghana to study. Coming from a community where making it to the university as a young woman was rare, I counted it joy to be one of the very few ladies to make it that far.

Without a smartphone, the plan was to save up from the stipend I will receive from my scholarship, since there was no one to get me one. As funny as it may seem, my Nokia keypad phone meant just a lot to me.

After a couple of hours of searching for a good hostel, I finally entered a two in a room hostel. Taking a few days to settle in, it was time to get to business- the reason why I had traveled that far to come to a new environment. Walking 30 minutes to campus from my hostel to find my class, yielded nothing. Anyways, I walked 30 minutes to class and back for the entire four years. On campus for the first time alone, I toured the entire institution to find out where I will be having my classes. I finally got to my department, wrote my timetable. I felt so happy because I will know where to go henceforth for lectures.

First Day in class.

I was two hours early to class, I sat in the big lecture hall waiting for the scheduled time for lectures to begin. It was 30 minutes to time, I saw ladies and gentlemen enter the class. The class was full already, “this is a huge class”- I whispered to myself.

I made a number of friends during the class; whose notes I requested to photocopy to learn since the mid semester examinations were two weeks away. 

Reading and requesting a few colleagues to explain their notes to me, it was soon time for the end of semester examinations. I did my best to cover enough though I missed close to half of the semester lectures.

For my first semester in the university, my results were not so good. I made lots of Bs and a couple of As. 

Seeing my results, I was disappointed,  I decided to sit up and make all As. Guess this decision meant a lot, it was my target and I worked tirelessly to realize this goal. I presented myself to lead different groups for various courses. I enjoyed doing class presentations, because they all gave me the chance to learn better.

Beyond Academics

My academics was major, but I had other engagements whilst in school. On campus, I did what I love most for leisure- music. I joined the Central Jubilee Choir (CJC); the official choir for my institution. I loved performing at chapel services especially Wednesday chapel services. Rehearsing classicals and various anthems on Tuesdays and Thursdays helped build my singing passion. Our performances on Wednesdays and Sundays boosted my confidence greatly. I became the general secretary for the choir for the 2019/2020 academic year. This gave me the chance to build my leadership qualities. 

My experience  with the school choir helped to get selected as the music director for my campus denomination in school.

I also took the position of Baobab Advocate for MasterCard Foundation scholars at CAMFED council on my campus. In this position, I came up with initiatives to encourage the scholars access and utilize the Baobab platform created for MasterCard scholars across the globe. I did various presentations to guide new cohorts (fresh scholars - level 100) to sign up and how to navigate the site. This position gave me a lot of exposure and pushed me to be a pacesetter on the platform and effectively engage my colleagues.

On campus, I took an initiative to support school going kids in a remote area close to my institution with pens, pencils,  reading, textbooks and exercise books. Under my initiative called Rising Readers Clubs, I mobilized funds from some of my colleagues who were interested in supporting these kids. We donated stationery to Aggressive Academy in Otenkope. Supporting the education of disadvantaged kids in remote areas has always been my passion and it was at Central University I started working at this interest. 

The above were but a few of the extra curricular activities I fully participated whilst pursuing my academics. The above were both opportunities to learn and tasks to perform which helped me to build my personal soft skills.

Let’s Talk 

Graduating with a CGPA 3.95 is a big deal; oh yes. It requires taking a conscious stance at doing your best to accumulate good grades from the very first semester to the last semester. It means not downplaying any course but taking each course seriously. 

Connect with God, acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will carry you through. Note the following:

• Pursuing excellence requires that you plan your semesters, days and time. 

• My advice is take advantage of group work to build your personal leadership qualities.

• First know who you are and how best you can study and at what time. Try to be part of a study group; study groups present different sides and opinions to subjects of discussion

• Invest in knowledge- make the most of presented opportunities such as the libraries, newspaper items, course textbooks, register for conferences, seminars, debates, etc. among others. Make it a point to read wide to enrich your write ups.

• Do more than studies: join enrichment groups, voluntary programs, internships and other extracurricular activities. These set you apart with time.

• Make the right friends; they wield so much influence. Select who you want closer to you and how they can influence you.

• It’s not about where you are coming from; otherwise, the single parent and charcoal seller’s daughter like myself and more out there would not have risen above their roofs.

From nowhere renowned and seemingly expected, I made a decision to leave Central University with something better than I came with. In the end, this is more intentional not accidental.

What More

Yes, what more? Is the good grades all you need? The answer is a loud -No. 

I am currently at a point where I am ready to take every opportunity to develop the skills I have and also to learn those I do not have, because the classroom is not generous to give you.

I am learning through working with people every single day. Interacting with people and learning from them is the way forward. Be ambitious, learn from people and the experiences life gives you. 

Acknowledgement

I made a partner who was very faithful from the beginning to the end. To the Almighty God, I am grateful for His sustenance and grace to complete successfully. 

I dedicate this achievement to my mom, she has single handedly supported me throughout all these years.

I want to largely thank CAMFED and the MasterCard Foundation for supporting my education to this far. CAMFED has been overly supportive by supporting me from senior high school even to my tertiary education.

To my intelligent and hardworking lecturers and the management of Central University, I am so grateful. You provided a conducive environment for education and development.

Never refuse to learn, aspire to inspire before you expire.