Generous individuals from across the globe help provide life-changing university education to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ayele Christele Ahoussi, currently a junior at Ashesi, was introduced to Ashesi by a family friend who saw her potential, but knew her family could not afford to send her to college without financial support.
“I joined the Ashesi community in 2010 as a student, but my story was a little different than most. I had no clue how to survive in an English-speaking environment, because I could not speak the language! Coming from Togo, all my studies were done in French, and the only time I had spoken English was in an English class in high school; very different from the reality of attending college in an English-speaking country.”
However, Ayele’s journey to become a student at Ashesi began long before her first days on campus. Johannes Kilian, a retired German businessman who worked in the cocoa industry in Brazil, Ivory Coast and Ghana since the early 1960’s, makes it possible for Ayele to attend Ashesi. “During my tenure in Ghana, I had the opportunity to get to know my local team and their families. One of my colleague’s daughters particularly impressed my wife, Donna, and I. She was only 9 or 10 at the time, but she was very bright. We kept up with her over the years and when time came to think about college, my wife recommended that she apply to Ashesi.”
When asked how he knew Ashesi was the right place for Ayele, Mr. Kilian noted, “I give credit to my wife, really. She is into academia and was doing some research and found out about it on the internet. She became intrigued, pursued it and got very excited. Ashesi is an unusual undertaking. Patrick’s story of leaving Microsoft and going on to devote his life and fortune to start such a great endeavor is truly inspiring.” Johannes and Donna decided to support Ayele’s education at Ashesi.
Ayele’s experience thus far at Ashesi echoes the Kilian’s impression of the University, “Ashesi has been an incredible experience. Ashesi offers a very inclusive education that allows us to think critically about the human conditions around us, question our values, and choose what we should stand for. Since I joined the University, I always go back to my home country to tell people about the story of Ashesi, and invite people to come join me here. Ashesi is not just my university; it is my key for success and excellence.”
She continued, “I owe a lot to Donna and Johannes Kilian, without whom I could not have been here. Donna and Johannes discovered me, and perhaps more importantly believed in me, and chose to help support me through Ashesi. Being given the opportunity for a world class education, I see it as my duty to work as hard as I can, and continue to reach back and help other people in my community get the same opportunity as I did.”
For information on how you can help provide an Ashesi education to a student like Ayele, contact our Foundation Office at foundation@ashesi.org or (206) 545-6988.