Getting a university degree can be a very challenging endeavour. Financially, mentally and even physically, it can be an exhausting process for many. A lot of people have dropped out due one or more of the above mentioned difficulties and some others have soldiered through, with inspiring stories to tell today. One of such people is Adam Gafaru, a young Ghanaian man who has taken to LinkedIn to share his story.
After completing Nandom Senior High School in 2014 with aggregate 9, Adam was admitted to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 2016 to read Biochemistry after been rejected twice by the University of Development Studies. Upon admission, getting the school fees of a little above GHS 1500 to pay was now a new hurdle to cross.
One of Adam’s JHS teachers took from his savings to pay for the young man. Adam however applied for assistance from his municipal assembly and got approved for it. Unfortunately, there was a change in government which affected Adam; the approval was revoked with the reason that “Biochemistry is not any good course to warrant their support” and that “support [was] only for the paramedics”.
Arriving in Kumasi for the first time, about 8pm, Adam had to trek for approximately 3 hrs to reach the abode of a friend who had agreed to let him perch until he got on his feet. Life on campus was not easy either. It got so hard that in his second semester, he emailed the management of MasterCard foundation stating his willingness to drop out if they would sponsor him on his re-admission. The response was a motivational email urging him to continue as the future was unknowable.
After his first year, a benefactor in the person of Uncle Moses Mengu would help him with academic fees. Adam would write exams on an empty stomach but manage to be in the first-class range, believing it was his get-out card, a chance at a foreign scholarship since he did not know any “big man” to help him with a job in Ghana after graduation.
After graduating in 2020 with a first-class degree, Adam could not jubilate just yet. He subsequently applied to Arizona State University and was offered admission for a PHD in Biochemistry. He is currently in the USA and will start classes on August 19, 2021.
Sharing his story, Adam thanked God for planning his path and how far he has come.
