What a remarkable audience we have here today. I would first like to applaud my sisters, the REDLadies of the Hopsa99 year group. I know many of you did not expect to have a pop quiz at a speech and prize-giving day, but at Holyco, every moment is a learning opportunity, so here goes…….
Who here knows what the R.E.D. in REDLadies stands for? The Hopsa99 year group is exempt from this pop quiz. Well, it stands for Remarkable, Empowered, and Determined! And I tell you, these keywords or attributes have been LIVED by our year group.
Throughout the planning, fundraising, and awareness efforts, the group lived our motto of “ACTION NOT WORDS.” Let’s give them a resounding round of applause for rallying together for a successful legacy project and for making sure THIS Speech and Prize-Giving Day would be one to remember.
Before I get into the core of my remarks, let’s begin with an exercise. Think about your proudest moment. When did it happen, what did you do, who was with you when it happened? I cycled a bit on what I would say in my remarks as there is so much that has happened over the last 25 years. My proudest moments have been spurred by many lessons, however three stand out and I will share with you today.
First, be curious and pursue lifelong learning. My mother, Mrs. Ewurabena Ahwoi, is the poster child for this lesson as she is a ferocious reader and constantly reminds those around her that knowledge, what we have in our heads, is the one thing that no one can take away. Her mother, my grandmother of blessed memory, who hailed from Cape Coast, did not have the opportunity to go to school and, in addition to her life lessons, encouraged all of us to take our schooling seriously.
I remember my path to Holy Child as if it were yesterday. I passed my Basic Education Certificate Exams (BECE) with flying colors and landed a fantastic placement at my SSS (SHS) first choice, Holy Child School, where I chose to study Business Accounting as my elective. Now, mind you, as the 4th of 7 children, my three older siblings had also gone to boarding schools, my two older sisters to St Roses, popularly known as ROSEC, and my one and only brother, a proud graduate of St Augustine’s College.
When asked how we all got split into multiple schools, my parents informed me that it was driven in part by a desire to democratize our experiences as the alternative would have been for all six girls to have gone to the same school and had the same experiences. And so, they split us up, the first two to St ROSES, the next two to Holy Child, and the last two to Wesley Girls.
My interest in business accounting had been fueled throughout my life, spurred on particularly by two people. First was my father, Ambassador Kwesi Ahwoi, whom I observed traveling around the world in his capacity as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Council, the Ghana Trade Fair Authority, and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, respectively. I was fascinated by the stories he told when he came back from his travels regarding the exposure he had, the people he met, the food he ate, the cultures he experienced, the contacts he established, and the comprehensive reports he wrote back to those relative establishments.
The other individual was my African American Aunt Cindy Barnes, an aunt not by blood relation but by virtue of a relationship my parents had forged with another African American Aunt, Vina Darko as both were members of the US Peace Corp who taught in Cape Coast. The relationship between my parents and Aunt Vina was so close that they established a rite of passage for us children. Which was, after graduating from JSS (JHS), each child would be sent to Houston, Texas to spend a few months with Aunt Vina and by extension my Aunt Cindy. Aunt Cindy is a Certified Public Accountant, the equivalent of a Chartered Accountant. She and her business partner, another CPA, own an Accounting firm. Given my young age, I surprised both Aunts by often asking to visit Aunt Cindy’s office so I could understand what she did. I even asked to help her at the office and completed some of the required documentation. I loved it! Upon my return to Ghana, when asked to select my area of focus for high school, I gladly stated that I wanted to go into Business Accounting.
My curiosity continued into my Holy Child experience and has remained a consistent theme throughout my life. I knew that I would want to pursue Business Accounting beyond Holy Child School so, in speaking with my parents, decided to opt into the Elective Math course as part of my curriculum. This was not a topic I had much exposure to, and it stretched my capacity even further. While it meant more time spent studying, I can credit this path to my very strong scores in the Math section of my Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). It is these scores that earned me a scholarship charting my path to study at Luther College, in the United States. While there, I decided that adding Management Information Systems as a second major would better position me for opportunities in the workforce as I could see that technology was becoming more prevalent in the business world. While this meant I had to do more work, I was undeterred; it contributed to how I landed my internship at Ernst & Young. My curiosity and openness to new opportunities and learnings have charted new paths, some of which I did not know I could be on, including my path to Cybersecurity.
Indeed, knowledge and learning are not bound by buildings; similar to what I saw with my dad, I have been fortunate to experience today, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, new ideas, which has allowed me to expand my perspectives. My sisters, especially you, the younger generation, learn to stay curious, ask questions, try new things, and never let the fear of the unknown deter you from learning something new. Beyond the walls of the classroom, education is an expansive journey that takes place every day, in every experience, and with every person we meet.
My second lesson brings me back to the infamous first day of school that all of us have experienced. Like many, I remember sitting in the car very apprehensive about what my future in the school was going to be. On arrival at Angels Hill, we were met with loud choruses from the seniors, making it known that our fresh selves were in for a treat, and once our visitors left, they made good on that callout.
This second lesson is to live a life anchored in your purpose, pay it forward, demonstrating compassion and empathy.
During my first year, our seniors often surprised us with random wake-up calls in the middle of the night, dances on demand, and additional morning or evening requests to fetch water from the farm when the taps did not flow. With the water fetching requests, I was happiest when I was summoned by a senior with a small bucket! My mates and I quickly realized we were stronger together and formed groups. To ease the burden of the water fetching requests, we would take turns supporting each other with the buckets of water, and sometimes would wake one another up very early in the morning to take our baths with water in the very buckets that our seniors had asked us to fetch water in. This was us looking out for one another.
During my school days at Holy Child, I also looked for opportunities to mentor our junior students, sharing what I knew about the boarding school life, the teachers, tips for success, lending an ear for the anxiousness that seeped in from time to time, and providing any support that was needed.
Among my year group, we would form study groups, and because prep would sometimes send us into a napping session, so often in violation of lights-out rules, we would wake one another up late at night or in the wee hours of the morning to study, especially when we had exams. The nature of the relationships I have today is a testament to the power of focusing on the needs of others first, seeking to understand their experiences, and asking how I can help. The impact of this approach is beyond measure and pays dividends in unexpected ways.
The third and final lesson enjoins us to have the courage to take initiative and blaze new trails. Seize every opportunity to challenge yourself no matter how daunting. If you want something you have never had, you will have to do something you have never done.
Growing up, I was often characterized as a tomboy, so it was only natural that I’d try my hand at sports while at Holyco. I tried my hands at hurdles despite my relatively short stature and surprised everyone, including myself and our coach at the time Mrs. Damesi, by doing pretty well! I had a nemesis in another Cape School, and we both qualified in hurdles for interschools and then again at regionals. I was one of a few athletes that qualified for the finals at regionals and made it in the top 4 finishers! There is nothing that cannot be overcome with determination and doing the work!
Another example of taking initiative and blazing new trails was highlighted in the introduction you just heard. During my prior two years at Holyco, I’d experienced a decent entertainment line-up, but in my last year after being selected as the entertainment prefect, I decided to put my mark on our experience. I thought up an idea of asking for contributions from the students to fund our entertainment activities throughout the year. I created a pitch as to why we needed our own Entertainment system, we brought this to then Headmistress and Assistant Headmistress Mrs. Nyarko and Mrs. Agyeman and won their support! I then rallied our girls to pay 5000 old Ghana cedis a term to fund more interesting entertainment activities and to secure the school’s first entertainment system which generated savings as we no longer had to routinely rent entertainment systems. This earned me the nickname ‘tax collector’ because try as people did to evade me, I always ended up getting their contributions; the case for better entertainment was desired by all.
In each of these examples, no one told me to do these things. I took the initiative and, more importantly, followed through on what I said I was going to do. To the future leaders in the crowd here today, seize every opportunity to influence your future.
Ladies and gentlemen, my experiences at Holy Child are a key part of who I am today. Today, as a Consulting Partner at Ernst and Young, I continue to thrive as part of a firm with clearly stated values about who we are. We are People who demonstrate integrity, respect, teaming, and inclusiveness, People with energy, enthusiasm, and the courage to lead, and People who build relationships based on doing the right thing. I can attribute my success in part to the Holy Child foundation and the continued alignment of these values with my now 19+ years of experience with Ernst and Young.
In closing, let me say that, as we celebrate today's achievements, let us also look forward with anticipation to the future. A future where each of us, empowered by our education and experiences, will make significant sustainable contributions to our society for we are not just the future of the world; we are its present and its hope.
So, to the young women before me, as you step out into the world, carry these lessons with you. The journey ahead will be filled with challenges, but within each of you lies the potential to overcome, to excel, and to lead.
Remember, be curious and pursue lifelong learning. Live a life anchored in your purpose, pay it forward, demonstrating compassion and empathy, and have the courage to take initiative and blaze new trails. The path ahead is yours to shape, and I have no doubt that you will carve it like women of substance, defaulting to action with tremendous grace, dignity, and strength.
Anchored on God and with the values of the Holy Child Jesus and our motto of “action not words,” similar to the everlasting nature of the sun, your lights will not be dimmed. Know that you can be anything, and there is nothing that you cannot accomplish. I cannot wait to return to the hill in the future and celebrate the accomplishments of our women of substance. May your paths be ever guided by the light of knowledge, the warmth of community, and the courage to dream big. ACTION NOT WORDS. Thank you.
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