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Ashesi: A new day and a new approach to life

Frederick Deegbe Jr.
Class of 2006

When I first heard about Ashesi I was very skeptical because it was unknown in the country’s tertiary education circles.  This uncertainty brought along with it fear. Now, as I sit within my lecture notes trying to adapt and find dynamic ways to solve challenging problems I completely forget my previous fears. I am alive with ideas and burning with questions.  I am not afraid.

Before I enrolled at Ashesi, I looked at things in the short term. I was solely concerned with the present and what seemed appropriate at that instant. But a few weeks into school, I heard a few words being repeated in and out of the Ashesi walls. Leadership, Citizenship, Scholarship, Honesty, Integrity, Ethics meant little to me when I walked fresh faced into my university experience. Now, they are deeply engrained within me, affecting whatever I do. These words are the pillars that Ashesi was built on, and principles that I hold dear because I believe they will shape my lifestyle and decision making even after I graduate. Ashesi is not impossible but it is challenging. The university takes one through a fiery, grueling four year life-span that is sure to change one’s attitude.  It changed me. 

I went from the lowest grade point average student to be on the Dean’s list and now, student government president with the help of some of the most supportive faculty, staff and peers one can find.  Ashesi rewards effort and hard work, and I am living proof of that.  I decided to work hard and play hard, and now instead of a trip to the Dean’s office to discuss bad grades, is a visit to the presidents office to discuss how the school can progress. I believe we are like clay and Ashesi is like a sculptor who chips and smoothens and molds and polishes you till you come out looking like a porcelain vase.

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