Dionne-Marie Daku-Mante
Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Class of 2023
My name is Dionne-Marie Daku-Mante. I am 17 years old and was born and raised in Accra, Ghana. From a very young age, I took a very keen interest in reading and learning new things. I used to read whatever I could lay my hands on. Due to this, so much was expected of me even at a young age. My father would always buy me encyclopedias, biographies, autobiographies, and so on. He always used to tell me to make him proud and that I should stand out wherever I go. This made me quite competitive as a child. It made me want to stay at the top always, so I used to exert myself more than other children would.
I have always been driven by competition. Competition, I believe, brings out the best in you and never lets you stay satisfied with what you have and what you’ve accomplished. I always partook in competitions such as spelling bees, quizzes, and even athletics. I used to run against pupils who were older than me yet I didn’t find it hard to win. I tried my hands at anything I could.
I have always been driven by competition. Competition, I believe, brings out the best in you and never lets you stay satisfied with what you have and what you’ve accomplished.
Over the years, my academic standards never declined, and after writing my Basic Entrance Certificate Examination, I was accepted to Ghana’s most prestigious girls’ secondary high School, Wesley Girls’ High School. Wesley Girls’ High School taught me so much. Time management is practically the hallmark of the school. I was in a class of honor, an initiative inspired by the Ashesi honor code.
I was selected to join the National Science and Maths Quiz team at my school, and with the help of my team, I made it to the semifinals. Making it to the semifinals was a very big deal for us as our school had not made it to the semifinals in quite a long time. I never thought I could, but God proved himself in our team especially during our quarter-final contest where we faced NSMQ giants Achimota School and Prempeh College. No one believed a girls’ school could actually beat any of those schools. This inspired me to prove everyone wrong and make it known that what boys can do girls can do just as well or even better. This has shown me that nothing is impossible as long as you focus and never give up.
Receiving a scholarship to Ashesi has been one of the most wonderful gifts I could have ever received. Coming to Ashesi to pursue a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering has always been my dream and I am more than grateful for such an opportunity. Being at Ashesi has been a very educational experience and within a few weeks, I have learned so many things. Ashesi has taught me within this short period that the world can be what we want to make of it and that thinking outside the box is key to success.
I am currently volunteering with an NGO called Hope for Future Generations. I’ve participated in many projects, including an empowerment project for young people living with HIV. God has been so good to me and what more can I do than give back to the community.
In the future, I hope to work with the world’s leading space exploration agency, NASA. I want to work with NASA so I can help discover new things the world never imagined. I feel there is so much in outer space that we have no idea about and that, hopefully, I could help discover that life actually exists outside of our planet.
In the future, I hope to work with the world’s leading space exploration agency, NASA. I want to work with NASA so I can help discover new things the world never imagined.
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