Help Godfred at College!

The American poet Henry David Thoreau once said, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” My journey in the direction of my dreams has commenced; my name is Godfred Asuman, I am 18 years old, and this is the story of my current journey and the life I endeavor to live. This story begins with my family and our background, continues with my education and leadership experience, and concludes with my future goals and endeavors. I was born in Ghana’s capital city of Accra, and upon my late father’s retirement from the Ghana Cocoa Board a year later, our family relocated to the Kumasi suburb of Amakom. My father was a consultant for the Ghana Cocoa Board and my mother still works as a trader. She had very little formal education, and as she has aged, she is beginning to struggle to transport her wares to sell at the markets. My three sisters also work as traders, with only one having obtained a formal education. She is now also a teacher at Offinso-Namong Junior High School. It was in Amakom where my educational journey began at Pentecostal Life Preparatory School, and continued until completion of junior high school in 2014. In October of that year, I received the opportunity to study at Kumasi Academy, where I earned high marks and distinctions in Further Mathematics and Chemistry. In the beginning, I was a day student; however, this made it difficult for me to learn properly; I overcame this difficulty by becoming a boarding student. As a result of my academic excellence and good relationships with my classmates, I was elected to join two other students to represent our school at the National Science and Mathematics Quiz. When I reached senior high school, I moved with my mother to the village of Apromase, where I currently reside. I reached my first major goal: a successful score, with distinction, in the West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE). Earning distinction on these exams is a difficult task: it takes a great deal of studying, hard work, and determination to achieve. Upon completing my secondary education, I realized that beginning college at that time was not feasible due to hardships. Consequently, in September 2017, I accepted a teaching position at Knowledge Hub Academy. In addition to the educational experiences mentioned, there have been several leadership and mentoring opportunities. One fortunate day at Pentecostal Life Preparatory School, I happily applied for the role of Boys’ Prefect. In this role, my responsibilities included dressing neatly, conducting morning assembly, ensuring the tidiness of the campus, and acting as an intermediary to provide student feedback to the staff. I was shy and timid at this point in my life, but through constant practice and reflection on past leaders for inspiration, I was able to overcome this. I have gained a great deal of leadership and mentoring experience in my current role as a teacher. Teachers have the potential to leave a permanent impression on the minds of their students, and are instrumental in guiding them to achieve tasks and goals the students themselves might have imagined impossible. An effective teacher has the responsibility not only of giving academic instruction, but also of developing the character of a child. These are responsibilities that I take very seriously in my current role. Outside of the classroom, being a mentor to youngsters can have a tremendous impact on their lives. I often watch over my sister’s children when she is at work, showing them organization, having quiz sessions, and teaching. It is not all work though; we also share jokes and play games together. I have heard the youngest say, "W'ama y'ani agye, wo yε Agya ketewa," which translates in the Asante Twi language as, “you’ve made us happy; you’re a little father.” Speaking of Asante Twi, I have also been teaching the language to non-native speakers interested in learning it. When I travel into the township of Apromase, I often encounter truants from long ago. I share my experiences of success with them, as well as those of others I know, in an effort to inspire them. I also hand out books, shoes, and clothing to some of them. My academic interest is in the field of computer science. Although I have personally never owned a computer, a childhood friend in Amakom did. Early on, I only played games on the computer. After influence from a teacher, however, my passion for them grew, and I found that there were many more uses for them, such as programming. I have recently devoted much of my spare time to beginning to learn the HTML and Python programming languages. I have developed a great interest in computer science and wish to make this the focus of my university studies. I would love to travel to America and Japan. Both cultures are fascinating to me. All of this will help me pursue my dream of being an application architect. It will also make my family proud and help me to make this world a better place.