Kpare Jude, a young Ghanaian man has shared the news of his graduation from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on social media. After winning over 7 awards during his stay in the school, his graduation was made even more memorable as he set a new record for the Department of Materials Engineering as the 1st graduate from the Department to achieve a Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA) of 80+. According to him, all of this began with a sacrifice his mother made for him many years ago. In his own words, here is the story:
Everyone has a story. Well mine started about 7 years ago when I gained admission into the Senior High School 14 hours away from my hometown. My mother and I set out on a journey to Takoradi on the day of reporting. About two hours into the journey, our bus broke down, and we had to wait several hours for a new one to arrive. The drivers asked us to manage the space because this new bus had less seats than the first one we took (roughly from a 60 seater bus to a 45 seater bus).
As we crammed into the bus, most passengers had purchased yam in bags to send to Takoradi, and these yam sacks were lined up on the aisle. My mother requested that I take her seat, as she sat next to me on one of the yam sacks. I was sad and attempted to persuade her otherwise, but she was insistent. As a result, my mother had to endure a 12-hour+ travel on the bumpy road from Tamale to Takoradi while sitting on yams just to give me the best education we could afford.
Since that day, I promised myself that I’ll make my family proud, and I’ve worked hard to achieve that goal. SHS flew by, and while I accomplished certain goals during that time, I was never fully content until I entered university four years ago, when everything changed. I was named the Best Student in my Department after my first semester, and I’ve never looked back. I didn’t have to work as hard to be in the spotlight; everything just happened as if it was God’s timing for me.
Last month, I graduated as the Best Graduating Student in the Department of Materials Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and not just that but set a record too as the 1st graduate from the Department to achieve a Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA) of 80+. I am grateful to God, my family, my lecturers and my colleagues for their help in coming this far.
Here are some of the honours I received during my studies:
- Best Graduating Student MSE, Class of 2021
- Best Student Award MSE 2017-2021
- Excellent Student Award MSE 2017-2021
- Outstanding Student of the Year, 2021
- Best Safety Project, GESA Maker’s Fair, 2021
- Advanced Diploma Occupational Safety and Health Management, Imperial College of Mines
- 1 of 3 Students to be Nominated and Participated in KNUST-UNIST Exchange Program, South Korea, 2018
With all these, I can boldly say, I came, I saw, and I conquered. Mummy’s sacrifice was worth it and I hope to make her even prouder as I progress in life and career.
To those who are still fighting this battle, don’t let up, your time is at hand. We will all win and say We Came, We Saw, We Conquered!!! Cheers 🥂
