When Ashesi's Class of 2020 moved in to campus this week, there was one parent helping his daughter unpack, who everyone was particularly familiar with. Casper Annie, Director of Logistics and Facilities Management at Ashesi, had finally seen a long-held dream come true.
“When I first joined Ashesi, sometime in 2003, my first conversation with Patrick was around building a world class institution that our children would find worth attending someday,” Casper said. “If our own children did not look forward to studying at the university we were building, then we would have failed in our mission to provide quality education alternatives. That conversation has always stayed with me.”
Several years after that conversation, Casper would lead the Ashesi community from a rented Labone campus, to its permanent home in Berekuso. “I work with my kids at heart, and with the hope that they will get the best possible kind of education right here at home. So whatever decision I make as a member of the Ashesi team, is towards achieving that goal.”
For Lillian Annie ‘20, choosing Ashesi went beyond attending a campus her dad had helped build; it was an opportunity to relive the experience she had when she first visited Ashesi for a two-week high school programme, the Ashesi Innovation Experience. “I knew a lot about Ashesi; the honour code, the small-sized classes, the beautiful campus. But I had also experienced it before, and I saw myself being here as a student. It’s nice having my dad here, however, I’m looking forward to making new friends and trying out new things.”
For Casper, not only is he helping create and maintain a beautiful campus, but also he, along with other staff and faculty at Ashesi are leaving a legacy for generations that have not yet been born. “That my daughter chooses to come here, means that what we started and continue to see grow and develop, has borne fruit. I am happy about that. My only wish will be that all other staff and faculty here stay inspired by the work we are doing, so that our children can be a part of a transformative Ghana, Africa and world.”