Vote of Thanks, by Yawa Hansen-Quao, Class of 2007
Your Excellency, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Your Excellency the US Ambassador to Ghana, Honorable Ministers of State, Nananom & Distinguished Ladies & Gentlemen. It is an honor to be a part of such a historic day.
We offer thanks first to Lord God Almighty. We choose to honor God first and foremost because He really is the Inspiration behind every good idea and the giver of the boldness required of anyone who seeks to live out their dreams.
We thank you and bless you Dr. Patrick Awuah, Founder of Ashesi University for responding to what we now know was destiny’s call. We honor you Mrs. Rebecca Awuah for your support, encouragement and contribution to the vision of Ashesi. In establishing this great institution, we recognize that you and your family have faced seemingly insurmountable odds and in the process have sacrificed more than we may ever know. May God richly reward you and your family for your labor of love. I hope you accept today as proof that you have not labored in vain.
We honor Mrs. Catherine Awuah; the mother of our founder, who by extension is a proud God-mother to all of us who enter Ashesi’s gates. We thank you for sharing with the world the gift of your son Dr. Patrick Awuah. May God bless you for the continued support you give to him, his family and the Ashesi family.
We acknowledge and appreciate the immense contributions of Nina Mirini and are grateful for her tireless support of the Ashesi dream during its early stages.
We thank the entire Board of Trustees and Executive Team. This day would not be possible without your unwavering commitment, your prudent counsel and direction.
We thank the Donors of Ashesi University; people from all walks of life, in countries across the world who have given their money and their time towards supporting the needs of this great vision.
We honor the Chief and good people of Berekuso for hosting us and giving us their land and their support. We celebrate the historic achievements of the project consultants and contractors for this campus project. Indeed you have built for us a world class facility.
We thank Ashesi’s Faculty and staff and though it is impossible to mention them all by name, honorable mention goes to the earliest members of the Ashesi team: particularly, staff members like Mildred Wulff, Caspar Annie and facilities team members like Mohammed & Peter Tetteh, Emefa Gadze, and Linda Young-Ribero whose zeal and enthusiasm helped form a strong and vibrant campus culture. We also thank the unforgettable faculty from Ashesi’s beginning like Mr. Mark Poynter (the mild-mannered Englishman affectionately known to us as “Owura Kofi Poynter”, Professor Kentaro Toyama who showed us, you could learn Calculus from anything: even a bowl of ice-cream; and who can forget the late Prince Awoonor Williams whose counsel and charisma encouraged many of us to be our best selves? Today, her legacy lives on through the Princess Awoonor Williams Scholarship Fund. To all Faculty and Staff o both past and present, we thank you for your dedication and service. We are all blessed to have had you as part of our Ashesi story.
We also must thank the first parents who believed enough in Ashesi’s vision to enroll their sons and daughters. And to those sons and daughters who are now members of the Ashesi Alumni body. Thank you for keeping your heads up and making the most of your Ashesi experience. What many didn’t realize is that we often came to class each day enduring snide remarks and cynicism from peers in more established universities, or from people who felt that nothing would become of our attending a university that operated out of rented buildings in a residential community. Luckily, with our Ashesi degrees, most of us are enjoying success that far outweighs what any our detractors could have imagined. So for many of us, today is a great vindication. And looking out at the beauty that surrounds us, I’d say that we are enjoying the last laugh. Thank you Ashesi alumni, may you continue to brighten the corners in which you find yourselves.
Current students of Ashesi, we thank you for keeping the Ashesi dream alive and maintaining a commitment to excellence. With a beautiful campus from which to do great work, we expect that your achievements will grow in the years ahead.
We thank all of our special invited guests especially our Guests of Honor: your Excellency the Vice President of Ghana, your Excellency the US Ambassador to Ghana, for honoring our invitation. We hope that by becoming better acquainted with the Ashesi story, you are yourselves inspired and invigorated.
To all the loyal friends and supporters, well-wishers and believers in the Ashesi dream, we acknowledge you & thank you for your support and goodwill and presence.
God bless Ashesi & God bless us all.