Kwesi Acquah Sam, a Ghanaian and former Head of Student Affairs at the Association of African Universities, which is the apex body of higher education institutions in Africa and hosted by the Government of Ghana as a diplomatic mission, is a counseling psychologist and a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, studying Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy. Mr. Sam addressed GRASAG-USA members, alumni, and educational stakeholders, and provided an account of his leadership as the 6th President during the maiden congress of the association held at the University of Maryland, College Park, from July 25-28, 2024.
Let’s dive into the full content of his message:
“Exactly 12 months ago, I boldly took on the role of the 6th President of GRASAG-USA for the 2023/2024 academic year, alongside my dedicated executive team. Our administration was guided by five strategic goals:
- Provide all members with equitable, inclusive, and participatory leadership and programmatic support.
- Foster a strong sense of belonging among members and implement innovative strategies to enhance visibility and increase membership.
- Utilize the association’s existing structures to mobilize resources for supporting members’ general welfare and academic needs.
- Decentralize leadership by establishing three regions based on the U.S. regional divide: GRASAG-USA Northeast, Midwest, and South regions.
- Organize our inaugural congress to celebrate our achievements, facilitate connections among members, alumni, and industry players, and share valuable insights.
As we reflect on these past 12 months, we are proud of what we have achieved together. We successfully executed all five of our strategic goals. Our maiden congress took place from July 25-28, 2024, at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The event brought together 75 Ghanaian graduate students from 40 universities across the United States, along with alumni and guests. We extend our special appreciation to our corporate and individual sponsors for believing in and helping us realize our vision. The congress has become a cherished tradition, and we eagerly anticipate the 2nd edition in July 2025.
Pictures from the Maiden Congress of GRASAG-USA
A significant focus of our administration was on resource mobilization. We aimed to raise $200,000 to support members’ academic and welfare needs and expand scholarship opportunities for prospective students. On September 30, 2023, we successfully launched the Prof Yaw Yeboah & Dr. Juliet Ohemeng-Ntiamoah GRASAG-USA Endowment Fund and the GRASAG-USA GIVING DAY Fund to help us achieve our resource mobilization goals. While we did not reach our $200,000 target, we are proud of the amount raised and the systems established to facilitate donations beyond our tenure.
Both funds are accessible on our website, www.grasagusa.us/support-us. We encourage continued support, and for the Giving Day Fund, members, alumni, and well-meaning Ghanaians in the U.S. are invited to donate a minimum of $10 on the last Friday of every month.
Over the past year, we have significantly increased GRASAG-USA’s visibility. We built an interactive website and database system to house all our resources and doubled our membership across all platforms through social media campaigns, programs, and regional decentralization.
We successfully organized all statutory academic, career, and social events of the association. Additionally, we introduced new programs such as the GRASAG-USA Podcast, which featured members as resource persons, and the Friday Virtual Karaoke Nite for community building.
We delivered on our promise of exciting leadership and express our profound gratitude to GRASAG-USA for the trust placed in us to serve the association this past year. We also extend our thanks to the founding executives led by Dr. Juliet Ohemeng-Ntiamoah, the Patron, Prof. Yaw Yeboah, the advisory committee, and the successive administrations, particularly my executive board, for their outstanding leadership and programmatic support. You have created a lasting legacy that will be remembered and cherished.
I am confident that the next administration, led by Mr. Victor Kojo Dei, a PhD candidate at University of Kentucky – USA, and his executive board, will continue to thrive and lead GRASAG-USA to new heights. To all our stakeholders and supporters, please continue your support for GRASAG-USA.
I am particularly grateful to Dr. Patty Perillo, Vice President, Division of Student Affairs, University of Maryland; Dr. Candace Maddox Moore, Associate Clinical Professor, Student Affairs, University of Maryland; Prof. Yaw Yeboah, Patron of GRASAG-USA; Dr. Juliet Ohemeng-Ntiamoah, Founding President of GRASAG-USA; Dr. Jojo France-Mensah, Founding Vice President of GRASAG-USA; Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education, Republic of Ghana; Angela Adwoa Asare Affran, Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Ghana; Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom, Director General – UNESCO Category II-IEPA, University of Cape Coast, Ghana; H.E. Hajia Alimah Mahama, Ambassador of the Embassy of Ghana, Washington, DC; Dr. Francis Bilson Darku, Assistant Research Professor, University of Notre Dame; and Mr. Ben Dotsei Malor, Chief Editor, UN News, UN Headquarters, New York-USA, for their immense contributions to the success of Congress 2024.
Mr. Kwesi Sam also extended his profound appreciation to Kimber Health by NYWPG and Taptap Send for their support in making the 2024 Congress at GRASAG-USA a success.”
GH Educate wishes Kwesi Acquah Sam well in his future endeavors.
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