First Student to obtain First Class Honours from the UPSA Law School – Naziha Amin Gombilla
Meet Naziha Gombilla Amin, Valedictorian and the first student to obtain First Class Honours from the UPSA Law School. Naziha, a native of Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana, made history not only as the first to graduate from the UPSA Law School with first class honours, but also as the first female to bag first class honours from the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA. With a FCGPA of 3.72, she also emerged the valedictorian of her class, the UPSA Bachelor of Laws class of 2022. In 2017, Naziha completed Accra Girls High School as best graduating student in History, Government and Literature and later enrolled at the UPSA Law School where she used her skills and talents to serve in various capacities. Naziha was active in student leadership and activism and in 2021, she was named the Federation of Africa Law Students (FALAS) leadership icon award in celebration of her outstanding leadership role and efforts to the growth and development of law students in Africa. She also represented the UPSA Law School at the Law Challenge Competition in 2021. “There were times it got tough. I thought I would resit certain courses but giving up never crossed my mind. I had started it, so I had to complete it. I had to make my parents proud”, she said on Law Chat in an interview with UPSA Law School. Naziha is passionate about Youth Leadership and is the immediate Vice-President of the UPSA Law Students Union (LSU). “I would advise law students, particularly first year law students to master the art of briefing cases. But even before briefing these cases, they should have read the full case and avoid relying on headnotes. By doing so, they not only appreciate the judgement but they build on their writing skills which is very relevant for answering problem based questions”, said Naziha in an interview with UPSA Law School. In the next five years, she hopes to be an International Energy Professional and a Lecturer. She enjoys photography, swimming, horse riding and learning new languages.
Musician Becca graduates UPSA with 3.92 GPA, emerges Valedictorian
Musician and actress, Rebecca Acheampong, popularly called Becca has graduated from the University of Professional Studies with a FCGPA of 3.92. Becca, who has been in the music industry for more than fifteen years emerged Valedictorian and Best Graduating Student in the Master of Arts in Brands & Communications Management programme. Delivering her valedictorian speech, the musician said, “There is nothing you cannot do under the sun if you dare to try.” She also dedicated her award to every girl and woman and encouraged them to believe in their abilities. She studied Child Care Education at Croydon College, UK and Operations and Project Management from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). Becca is an old girl of Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast and has over 70 awards to her name.
KNUST’s overall second best student for Telecommunications Engineering’21, skips Masters and bags full scholarship for PhD at University of Maryland
Hillary Nana Yaa Owusu, who graduated as the best female student for Telecommunications Engineering since her first year at KNUST has announced the good news of how she has bagged a fully funded scholarship to pursue a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Maryland, College Park. In 2021, Hillary finished with a CWA of 80.99 where she graduated from KNUST with a first class honors in BSc Telecommunication Engineering. She shared the news in her Twitter post and said: “Your girl got a fully funded scholarship to do her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Maryland, College Park. I’m so excited for what’s ahead. God has been good.” This comes as a huge news as only 12.5% of females are pursuing Engineering across Ghana’s tertiary institutions with only 8.78% registered as practicing female engineers. Hillary was a Research and Teaching Assistant at KNUST’s Telecommunications and Engineering Department. She also previously volunteered as a Content and Brand Strategist with Because She Can, a community of women encouraging and empowering women and girls to thrive in the technology space. Congratulations Hillary, continue to inspire, and we wish you all the best in your new endeavour.
Singer and police officer, ACP Kofi Sarpong bags first class from GIMPA
Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching. This goes on to prove that education is not in any way affected by obstacles such as age, time and difficulties in life and thus can be pursued at any point in time and is greatly affected by the determination of an individual. Assistant Commissioner of Police and Gospel Singer, Kofi Sarpong has bagged first class honors in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra, as part of its 22nd congregation that graduated from the institute. The recently promoted ACP, who rose through the ranks and file of the Ghana Police service, shared this news via an Instagram post on his page with fans, followers and well wishers. He wrote: “Ladies & Gentlemen, your Assistant Commissioner of Police with a 1st Class in BSc. Public Administration from GIMPA. Thank you JESUS!!” The ACP recounted tales of how strenuous the road to acquiring education has been and how he had to drop out of school at the J.H.S level due to financial limitations based on the absence of his father during those periods, in an interview with Afia Amankwa Tamakloe on Adom TV’s M’ashyese3 show. “I am from Berekum and that was where I lived most of my life but my father as a policeman was often transferred and had to move along. But at a point, my grandmother stopped my mother from any relocation because she was fed up. My father also left and never returned until I was about to write my O’level exam and those periods were very difficult for me.” he said. Stories like this inspire us that through all strives and difficulties, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Congratulations to the ACP and we wish him well in all his endeavors.
Ghanaian Economist Dr. Victoria Kwakwa is the new World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa
Ghanaian economist and development expert Dr. Victoria Kwakwa is the new Vice President of the World Bank for Eastern and Southern Africa. Dr. Victoria Kwakwa first joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 1989 and has since served in diverse capacities across Africa, East Asia and the Pacific region. Including serving as Lead Economist in Nigeria, Country Manager for Rwanda, and Country Director for Vietnam. She also served as Vice President, East Asia Pacific until August 2021 and later worked as Vice President, Corporate Strategic Initiatives, a role she occupied until her new appointment. As World Bank’s Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Dr. Kwakwa will be leading the Bank’s engagement with 26 countries. She will also lead the Bank’s initiatives to promote private sector jobs and economic transformation, build human capital, strengthen climate resilience, agriculture productivity and food security, and improve access to critical infrastructure. She assumes her new role on July 1, 2022 and succeeds Egyptian and French national, Hafez Ghanem who retired on June 30, 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana, and a master’s degree and PhD in Economics from Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada.
Soft and Technical Skills Training Consult: the organization training professionals with top business skills
Soft and Technical Skills Training Consult is a leading skills development consultancy that is equipping individuals and institutions with top skills for workplace success. STSTC does this by offering web-based pre-loaded interactive and skill-based video training programs. In a highly competitive business world, web-based interactive training is becoming the preferred choice for giving participants the opportunity to access the programs anywhere in the world, at home, in the workplace, etc. Well researched courses at STSTC are developed by Industry experts with focus on best practice and industry trend. Soft and Technical Skills Training Consult believes that time and money should not be a barrier to continuous professional development. This is why the consult is providing highly competitive courses at affordable rates in a flexible environment. Enroll at https://www.softandtechnicalskillstrainingconsult.com/
15 year old Nigerian gets job with No CV and No Interview
Job search for many young people comes with a number of challenges. Despite having high academic qualifications, some young graduates face many roadblocks in their job search. From not having the requisite skills for advertised jobs, to not getting called for interviews and even getting ghosted after they attend interviews. Everyday, young people endure so much to secure a good paying job. This is why news of Chigozie Allen, a 15-year old Nigerian who recently secured a job offer with no resume and no interview has got many excited. In his own words, Chigozie Allen who calls himself the ‘Young Multidisciplinary Creative’ wrote: “The journey commenced after writing WAEC , JAMB & POST – UTME , three exams in a row ( back – to – back ) then , learning a digital skill ( graphic design ) , you can imagine how tedious this could be. A day came , after learning the skill of graphic design and steadily gaining mastery , I came online on whatsapp , my friend whom is a forex trader saw a status of his friend who is also a forex trader saying “We are hiring a Graphic designer within the town and its environs “ Quickly , he screenshotted the status , sent it to me to check the job out. Immediately , I did it , thank God for the relationship I had with him. I chatted with them man , I told him my Full name , my age , my previous designs , I sent him links to my social media handles. Immediately, He called me on the phone , he said ” Are you really 15″ , I said Yes sir , He was really overwhelmed and amazed seeing me being resourceful and productive as a teen!. Without wasting much time , he gave my contact to the CEO of the brand and boooooommmm!!! I got the job and started working! I got the job at 15 , no CV , no Interview!” Indeed, the importance of learning skills in demand and having a strong social media presence cannot be overrated. Congratulations once again, Chigozie Allen.
Google chooses Ghana as home for its first AI Research lab in Africa
Google has opened a new AI research laboratory in Africa, located in Ghana’s capital city. Accra. The new office designed to support Google’s AI Research Team is the first in Africa and can be spotted inside Stanbic Heights, Airport City in Accra. In 2018, Google declared intentions to open its first Artificial Intelligence(AI) lab in Ghana to support researchers with the relevant tools and opportunity to develop AI products to solve numerous problems across the continent. In 2021, the Global Peace Index Report named Ghana the second most peaceful country in Africa. The West African country is headquarters to the AfCFTA Secretariat, Twitter in Africa and now boasts of being home for Google’s first AI research laboratory in Africa.
11 Years Ago Adelaide Abena Frimpomaa Baah-Frimpong started studying Law. She failed at her first attempt at the entrance exam to law school. She was denied a visa twice to do her LLM in the US. Now Adelaide is a Barrister at Law and is inspiring others with her story.
It is not how many times you fail at something. What really defines your journey is how many times you keep trying, get up and put one foot in front of the other and march on despite the challenges. 11 years ago Adelaide Abena Frimpomaa Baah-Frimpong started studying Law. She failed at her first attempt at the entrance exam to law school. She was denied a visa twice to do her LLM in the US. She wrote numerous failed papers again. She went through a painful divorce and struggled to secure a job. Now Adelaide is a Barrister at Law and is inspiring others with her story. She shared her story on LinkedIn and wrote: “I started studying Law in 2011 and finished my first degree in 2015. I failed my first attempt at the entrance exam to law school. I decided to go do my LLM in the US. I applied and got all the supporting documents. I went for the visa interview and got denied. 6 months later I tried again and still got denied visa. A day after the denial, I wrote the entrance exam again and got admission in 2016. I wrote my first Bar exam in 2017 and failed 4 papers which meant all the 6 I passed were wasted and I needed to repeat the course. I had now delivered my daughter through C.S and faced postpartum depression alone and secretly so I deferred the course in 2018. I was going through a painful separation but decided to try again. A week to the Bar exam, I received a petition for divorce which broke me all over again. I knew I had to defer again to 2020 because I knew another failure would ruin me forever. I went back to law school again in 2020. I was bitter, sad and hurt but I still went anyway. I wrote my first 6 papers and failed 2. In 2021 I sat for the 2 failed papers with the 4 I had to write that year. I failed 2 again out of the 6 papers. This year, March 2022, I wrote the 2 papers I failed. I passed and found my name in the enrollment list. June 24, 2022 became the day I was called to the Bar, I just want to inspire you reading this today. If you think you’ve struggled too much, just hold on and don’t give up.” Indeed perseverance pays and delay is not denial. Congratulations Adelaide Abena Frimpomaa Baah-Frimpong.
Mole National Park; Ghana’s first and largest protected area
Pronounced ‘moh-lay’, the Mole National Park is located in Ghana’s northern area and covers a region of 4,577 km2 and is home to numerous plant and mammal species. Larabanga is the closest city to the park which was a route for slave traders in the past. The headquarters of the park was the area where Samore and Babatu, the two well-known slave raiders clashed and fought. No wonder the headquarters is named after Samore (Samole), one of them. As one of the seven national parks in Ghana, Mole National Park borders 33 communities and is noted as home to a large number of elephant population in Ghana. The park is well protected through coordination with fringe communities and the range system. Management of the park have a task to sustainably manage the parks’ wildlife resources to generate and increase revenue for the park. A visit to the Mole National Park also means you can explore nearby tourist sites like the Gbele Resource Reserve, the Kraal buildings, the Larabanga mosque, the Daboya smock village and many interesting tourist locations in Northern Ghana. November to March is often the Dry season in Northern Ghana and it is best not to wear heavy clothing. Also wear insect repellent if you intend to explore the deep parts of the park. The repellent will protect you from tsetse fly bites. For the rainy season between April to October, tourists are advised to wear protective clothing. Ghana is a beautiful country with amazing tourist destinations. If you’re scouting for a tourist destination to explore in Ghana, visit the Mole National Park.
