I haven't written much on the page in years, but I play with words and take notes all the time. It's not as natural for me to share these days for whatever reason, but every once in awhile I want to document special moments in work and life, and recently there were two that reminded me how grateful I am to have found the work path I am on.
Last month I had the opportunity to listen to a first year scholarship student at Ashesi University share about their experience finding out they'd been awarded a full scholarship. This student is not from Ghana, and is only the second person in their entire village to access higher education. An uncle, who had not been able to send his own children to tertiary studies, had been heavily discouraging this student's parents from allowing him to explore university options. And, there were no funds to send him if a scholarship didn't come through. When he was notified of a fully funded scholarship (travel, tuition, room and board), he said his response was simply, "it is life to me. I had lost hope."
Yesterday, we heard from a campus leader who works with students on experiential learning and community engagement. As we asked which student's projects stood out to him, he got very quiet and we realized he had started to cry. It took him many moments to compose himself enough to share about a recent graduate who has returned to his rural community in Ghana and is helping improve agriculture processes with enhanced inputs and access to credit for farmers. When I asked what led to the deep emotion in thinking of this student, he shared that he knows this work and its associated impact would not be happening without Ashesi. This was a strong student who likely would have attended one of the local technical institutes and gone into a traditional corporate career path had he not received a scholarship. But at Ashesi, he learned to ask "what problems are my community facing that I can help address? How can I leverage my education for maximum impact in my community?" Now, he is combining his deep understanding of his local community's resources and needs to create lasting, sustainable change.
I am so grateful to be in the orbit of this community and the magic they are making in the world. There is no better investment I can make with my time and talent, and it is truly a privilege to welcome others to join us in this work.