Promasidor’s latest sponsored student at the ALA
The latest Promasidor sponsored student at the African Leadership Academy (ALA) is a young lady by the name of Asantewa Owusu-Darko. We caught up with her at our Bruton Road offices.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Asantewa. I am 17 years old and am currently in my second year of study at the ALA. I enjoy reading and writing poetry. A book I wrote was actually long-listed for the pan-African Golden Baobab Literary Awards. My sister is a MasterCard scholar at the University of Arizona. She hopes to one day qualify as a cardiologist and bring her skills back to Ghana. My brother was at the University of British Columbia, but returned to Ghana after the death of my father.
How did you come to hear about the ALA?
My godmother was head of the Alumni Association of the University of Ghana. She gave me the forms to apply.
What are you studying at the ALA?
I am studying history and literature. I want to promote social change and development. The ALA has been the best experience I've ever had. I've met a wide range of people and have been exposed to a wide range of cultures.
What can you take away from your ALA experience?
Through the ALA my passion for education has been developed. The Student Enterprise Development programme will help me develop enterprises when I return to Ghana. The ALA has also helped me develop my own core values – integrity, compassion and family.
You are going back to Ghana in the summer. What are your plans?
I am organizing a design-thinking programme. One example is to find sustainable measures to solve Ghana sanitation problems. I want to instill the BUILD (Believe, Understand, Invest, Listen and Deliver) philosophy in Ghana's youth.
What do you intend doing after ALA?
I am currently weighing up my options at a number of colleges, but leaning towards Macalester College in Minnesota, USA. It's a global college with a wide range of international students. I hope to study political science and media studies. Their alumni include Kofi Annan and Fred Swanke, the founder of the ALA.
What career would you like to follow when you return to Ghana?
I hope to return to Ghana to work in one of the media companies. I'm really into marketing and advertising. In ten years time, I would like to have seen my design-thinking programme take off and be adopted throughout Africa. I would also like to establish a school like the ALA in Ghana.