To the Graduating Class of the College of Humanities
November 2017
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”
Acting Chairman of the University Council,
Vice Chancellor,
Pro-Vice Chancellors,
Registrar,
Members of Council,
Members of Advisory Board of the College of Humanities,
Members of Convocation,
Hon. Ministers of State,
Your Excellencies,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Alumni and Friends of the University,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank you for the invitation to be Guest Speaker at the 2017 Congregation of the College of Humanities of Ghana’s premier institution of higher learning, the University of Ghana, Legon.
It is a real honor for me to stand before you on this momentous occasion. This moment brings back personal memories from the distant past, when I finished my undergraduate education, and carried feelings of major accomplishment.
The 2017 Graduating class will be the first to admit that the journey to this moment, has been arduous. Some of you may have had challenges with meeting deadlines, understanding certain concepts, and the handling of your courses. Some may have encountered financial and emotional challenges. Some of you probably considered giving up.
But you remained determined, you worked hard, and you had faith in your abilities, that no matter the obstacles
“it is possible”,
and that is why you are here today on graduation day.
I congratulate you on your accomplishments.
And even as you revel in the occasion and congratulate each other, you must also spare a moment to reflect on the contributions that your parents, family and friends have made towards your education. Your parents, family, friends, and academic staff have been a part of your success story and it is time to say a big thank you to them.
(Shall we give the parents and supporters a round of applause.)
We thank you.
Members of this 2017 graduating class, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a story to tell.
It is quite unusual, I think, (especially in a Ghanaian context.)
It is a story about the choices we make and how they shape our lives.
It is a story of determination and focus … And how having these two values can take you places.
This is my story, and you can give it the headline,
“Nothing is Impossible.”
Now, how do I start? – I am a Surgeon, who specialized in General Surgery, Burns and Reconstructive Surgery. And just in case you are wondering why a Surgeon is here, speaking to Humanities graduates, I need you to know that I started off my education as an Arts and Humanities student.
So, I hope my story and my journey will help educate, motivate and inspire you today.
I attended Chapel Hill Preparatory School in Takoradi and then moved on to Holy Child Secondary in Cape Coast. In Holy Child, I studied Arts subjects for my GCE Ordinary Level and for my Sixth Form of A-Level at Archbishopporter Girls Secondary School, I studied English Literature, Religion and History. This was back in the 80s, before the JSS and SHS Systems were introduced. Back then, after Class Six, we had 5 years in secondary school for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level, followed by 2 years in Sixth Form for the Advanced Levels and then continue on to University. So, with my Literature, Religion and History A Levels, I was expected to proceed to the University of Ghana (Legon). But by a twist of circumstances I found myself in New York City in the United States instead.
New York was – and still is – a big city for a small young African girl. (Just imagine.) My parents Emphasized and I knew, even back then, that to succeed in life I would have to get a solid education – including a university degree. So, I worked hard and enrolled myself in Pace University, where I started to study Accounting. (I guessed I was going to be that person handling, checking, and managing other people’s monies.)
But after a few years I knew that crunching numbers, and dealing with balance sheets and reconciliation statements as an Accountant would not be for me. So, with some determination and hope I moved far west to California and enrolled at University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. At USC, I discovered an open horizon, with amazing opportunities to pursue other courses.
Let me explain, in the USA the first two years of college or university will give you an opportunity to sample other courses so you can find out what you really want to study. But even when you are presented with opportunities you need courage to venture out to try new things. I needed courage when I was presented with opportunities at the University of Southern California. So being the adventurous type, I decided to take a plunge and TRY some Science courses. (Remember my Ghana A Level qualifications in English Literature, Religion and History.)
Now at USC, I immersed myself in Biology and Chemistry, and immediately fell in love with Science. I was driven by new passion and subsequently added more Science classes. After two years I became confident, convinced and convicted enough to declare my major as Biological Science, with a minor in Judeo-Christian religion. (Can you imagine!)
“A strange combination,” as one of my professors said at the time. But I knew this combination was going to make me more versatile. I also liked the study of Religions because this was one of my favorite subjects in Sixth Form back in Ghana.
After my undergraduate degree I performed well enough to end up in the University of Wisconsin Medical School on a scholarship.
My time in Wisconsin was tough. It was lonely. It was cold. And it was hectic. As one of only a few black students in a class of 180 students I encountered several racial moments. Wisconsin has sunshine only four months in a year and subzero temperatures in the winter. Just imagine taking a young African woman from sunny and hot Ghana, through sunny and warm Los Angeles to the sub-zero temperatures of Wisconsin.
Ladies and gentlemen, in spite of these challenges the move to enroll at the Medical School in Wisconsin was perhaps one of the best decisions I have ever made!
I would have probably never completed my studies as a medical Doctor if I had chosen a medical school at a place with more friends, more comfort and more distracting activities.
In Wisconsin, I was able to focused on my studies, confronted the tough times and completed medical school with a Doctorate of Medicine.
Please remember, I was an Arts Sixth Former in Ghana a few years earlier, with A-Levels in English Literature, Religion and History. After I graduated Medical School, I had two options: either to proceed to do residency, as almost all my colleagues did, or to take a break from medicine and go to Public Health School. I chose the latter, which was the road less traveled.
I enrolled in Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health and obtained a Master’s Degree in Public and International Health. At the back of my mind, I knew if I returned to Ghana one day a qualification in Public Health would enable me to look at health issues from a population and public policy point of view, and not only from the strictly individual medical point of view, as I would have done in my surgical practice.
After I finished my Master’s in the famous Johns Hopkins University in 2000. I then went back to complete a grueling five-year Surgical Residency plus another two-years of Fellowship in Trauma/Burn/Reconstructive program in California. I then started a private practice in Barstow, California, where I was the vice-chairperson of the Department of Surgery. I received my Board Certification from the American College of Surgery in 2010 and incidentally will be inducted into the Ghana College of Surgeons and Physicians in December 2017
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I had it in my heart all this while that I would eventually move to Ghana, to help rebuild our struggling health system. I relocated to Ghana in 2014. I have been here since, even though I continue to be licensed in California and Maryland, and occasionally go there to work.
My life in Ghana has been multifaceted, multi-dimensional, and exciting. I have a private surgical practice and I am a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast Medical School. I am currently working on a collaboration with the University of California in San Diego(my Alma mater) and Cape Coast University Medical School on a US National Institute of Health grant for post-graduate training in research and development in trauma systems and to provide trauma education to Medical students, paramedics and ambulance personnel. Also an adjunct professor of Surgery at the University of Utah’s Center for Global Surgery where we are establishing minimally invasive( pin-hole) surgical residency programs in Ghana and Cambodia and researching breast cancer incidence and prevalence as well as location of treatment modalities in Ghana. My life as a teacher of life sciences has been very rewarding.
Until recently I was a board member of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Currently, I am a member of the Advisory committee for the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority on vaccines and biological products. I am also the founder and CEO of an NGO called “The Healing Hands Organization,” which provides free medical and surgical care to the poor and the people with little or no access to healthcare in our society.
I often volunteer my services. During the Kwame Nkrumah Circle -Fire disaster of June 3rd i volunteered at 37 Military Hospital to help resuscitate and skin graft the severely injured. I also volunteered to help Achimota Hospital Casualty Department during the doctors strike in 2015. I Avail myself for Mentorship for the youth especially young girls.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe, my eclectic and unusual educational path has made me more versatile and better able to adapt to a variety of situations and circumstances.
So, what am I trying to tell you with my story?
What lessons do I have to share with my life story?
What inspiration can you draw from my story?
Nothing is impossible
… if you have faith
if you’re determined and if you try hard.
To begin with I urge the University authorities to introduce more flexibility into the selection of courses so that students can explore more options. Secondly, I urge the graduates assembled here to consider the first degree as a starting point and a stepping stone, so you have to build on it. You must explore new possibilities. You will need to study hard.
You must be true to yourself. Look beyond the humanities of you can, and choose a field or a subject that you will grow to like, because ultimately you will be happier and find greater fulfillment in doing what you love.
Do not limit yourselves. Dream big, challenge yourself and break new grounds.
Please, get a few good people to mentor you.
Remember that education has no end, so cultivate the habit of constantly reading and learning.
Remember that the days when people look to government to provide jobs are far gone, not only in here in Ghana but globally. So you need to think outside the box, create new opportunities for your selves.
Personal qualities such as respect for time, punctuality, sense of urgency, and reliability are qualities that you need to succeed. Cultivate those.
Don’t start out by thinking you have to make it big from the beginning. Anything that’s valuable will take time, but I can assure you that with hard work, smart work, and determination it can be done. To be more employable you have to have something extra. You cannot be ordinary – you must have an extraordinary edge.
As the Chinese saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” start with one step and then keep on moving forward and higher until your goals are achieved.
Reach for the sky. In fact, reach beyond the skies.
I salute everyone in this 2017 Graduating class.
But my special encouragement goes to the women here: Aim high and shatter the glass ceiling. You have what it takes to excel, no matter what odds come your way.
Above all, my dear friends, ladies and gentlemen, once you become successful, please reach out and help someone else. There is always someone who is less fortunate than you, so always remember to give back. There is a blessing in doing so – a blessing that money cannot buy.
So, in conclusion, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like end to with this quote from Martin Luther King “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is. ‘What are you doing for others?'”
I want you to leave here believing in POSSIBILITIES.
IT IS POSSIBLE.
Your dream is possible.
Your success is possible.
Your hope is possible.
I thank you for this opportunity to share my story with you. The story of an Arts and Humanities Six Former from Holy Child School, who – by God’s Grace – graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School as a doctor and is standing in front of you today as a Surgeon specialist and Professor of Surgery.
You can achieve the same thing or an even bigger dreams. CONGRATULATIONS to all of you Congratulations on this key first step. CONGRATULATIONS for starting on a journey of opportunities and possibilities.
Go out and excel.
Go out and succeed.
Go out and do great works.
Above all Serve your country well!!
