Four Years Later…
By Michelle Eghan

When I set out in 2002 as a freshman at Ashesi University, I had no idea of what was to come, or what I could achieve. I was aware of Dr. Awuah’s dream and vision and was intrigued by it, but I was more focused on earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.  I had no idea that four years down the road, being a part of Ashesi would change who I was, and in a sense what I believed in, and make me feel a part of a close-knit community.

The First Year

Freshman year was what I deemed the “reading” year. Most of the classes were analytical in nature, and various theories were discussed and debated. Our class was encouraged to think outside the box and to question ideas that had been around longer than we had. The classroom was a safe haven, where no idea was dismissed and where everyone was encouraged to air their views about the topic in question.

There were more boys than girls in our class, and when dealing with issues relating to Socrates and Machiavellian beliefs, the boys had a lot to say. The girls, on the other hand, myself included, were content to sit back and let the boys go at it.  But, no one said that our professors were going to be satisfied with that.  The girls were encouraged to speak out, to have confidence in their thoughts and ideas.  Culturally, women always seem to hover in the background and let the men stand in the spotlight, but at Ashesi this trend was about to come to a staggering halt.  We weren’t allowed to sit back and let knowledge run around us, but were encouraged and taught to grasp knowledge by the hair and use and apply it.

The first year was a combination of hard thinking and learning how to ask the right questions.  But we also had a lot of fun, getting to know each other and using chocolate as a learning tool in calculus class with the famous Dr. Toyama.

Sophomore Year

The second year was in my opinion, the “analytical” year. Taking courses such as Statistics and Programming gave our brain cells no chance to rest.  Learning how different factors correlated and how to use the Excel program to perform a t-Test analysis, gave us an appreciation for mathematics and its different applications.

Having gotten used to just having our pioneering class on campus, we had to adjust ourselves to the idea of having a new batch of freshman around.  With our community getting larger, new friendships were formed and more extra-curricular activities were established.  The school was getting bigger and the classes were branching out into different areas apart from English literature and mathematics.  Different realms of academia including African Philosophical Thought and Social Enquiry were explored.  With the analytical foundation formed in the first year, it was built upon to higher degrees in the second year.  The internship program was also started and Ashesi’s students took on different summer positions with companies such as Databank, Busy Internet and Interplast.

Junior Year

Junior year was what I thought of as the “major” year. Our class was divided into two groups, the Business Admin (BA) students and the Computer Science (CS) students. While the CS students were delving into the world of Java and developing new software techniques, the BA students were learning about different types of accounting and visiting various companies in and around Accra and learning about the operations management structure.

The learning was not just done through textbooks, nor was it done by rote.  Guest speakers helped to give real-life meaning to the concepts that were being taught.  Field trips were taken so that we could witness companies in action.  Students were given the impetus to take their own initiatives and come up with their own ideas.  As such, some students established their own companies and set out to make important contacts through Ashesi’s guest lecturers.  Ashesi’s pioneering class was beginning to stand on their own two feet, using lessons learned at Ashesi to further their own dreams and visions.

Senior Year

The final year… it came by so quickly in many respects. Graduation is just around the corner and I can’t believe it. Every year it seems that I’ve had to work harder than the previous year to make sure that I was making most out of the opportunity that I was given at Ashesi.  The dissertation was a big part of the final year and a lot of time management skills was needed to balance my time and effort towards the other classes that I was taking.  Students were also given more autonomy by their lecturers and needed less direction in terms of group projects and assignments.

I’ve grown these past four years.  I’ve learnt to have more confidence in my abilities and never to give up trying.  I’ve also made the best friends who will always be a part of my life in one way or another.  College is supposed to be the best four years of your life, and I believe that this is really true, especially here at Ashesi.  It feels as though no time has passed at all since my first day, but four whole years have passed and I feel privileged to have been apart of Dr. Awuah’s dream.  His belief in the youth and their ability, has put me where I am today… as a proud graduate of the 2005 pioneering class.

They say hind sight is 20-20.  If I had to it all again – the endless reading, the critical analysis, lamenting the disruption of Internet services, assignments from different classes all due at the same time, cramming for exams, the all night study sessions, the group discussions, lecturers testing their students’ limits through demanding essay questions – I’d go through it all again, because the end benefit is worth it!