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Daring to Dream: Inauguration Day, October 9th 2002

TRANSCRIPT OF WELCOME SPEECH BY ANDREW TARAWALI, ASHESI CLASS OF 2005

Mr. Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Madame Chairperson, Honorable Members of the Board, Dedicated Administrative Body and Faculty, Distinguished Guests, Fellow Students, Ladies and Gentlemen. As an international student coming from Sierra Leone it is a great honour and opportunity to be chosen to give opening remarks and welcome you all to Ashesi University, where excellence is the code.

I believe I speak on behalf of my fellow colleagues when I say we feel that we are the most fortunate and privileged university students in Ghana. You may ask "What are the bases of such a conclusion?" and I will simply say to you:

"In which other tertiary institution in Ghana do you find the same level of IT infrastructure and facilities available to students? Where also do you find such a low ratio of students to lecturers and computers? In which other educational institution do you find 55% of students on some sort of financial aid, and in addition enjoy services and benefits such as job placements after graduation, on-campus jobs that pay above the minimum wage level, supply of text books and access to online databases?"

I believe you will all agree with me that all these facilities make learning effective.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is no other institution of higher education in Ghana today that matches the learning environment and the quality of instruction at Ashesi. I could continue listing reasons why we students feel this way about Ashesi University, but I only have five minutes for this speech. Believe me; I could go on for hours. At Ashesi everyone is considered a leader and is treated special. Ashesi continues to equip us with the necessary determination, strength, and belief in ourselves to be able to achieve our goals. We are being taught to think outside the box and to question and challenge our assumptions about the world we live in. This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the benefits of a Liberal Arts education, which seeks to broaden our intellectual capacity. Ashesi is the first tertiary institution in Ghana to establish such a program within its academic structure. At Ashesi, we are also exposed to real life situations and how to deal with them through a practical and vigorous academic program as well as various seminars in which prominent leaders in their professions are invited as guests to interact and share their knowledge and experiences with us. You can't miss the heavenly feeling that enraptures you as a student of Ashesi University because of the fact that Ashesi provides an excellent atmosphere for its students.

Ladies and gentlemen, some people, maybe even some of you in this audience may believe that tuition at Ashesi is too expensive, but I say to you that the students here are unanimous in saying it is worth it. Not because we all come from well to do families but because when it comes to one's education, you need to aim at getting the best from the right place. One's education defines who you are and what your perception of life and society will become. Ashesi is the right place as it offers us a top quality education which meets high international standards. This is due to the strong linkages the school has established with three of the very best schools in the United States; namely Swarthmore College which is ranked as the best liberal arts school in the U.S., UC Berkeley, and University of Washington. In addition, Ashesi has recruited an excellent faculty consisting of lecturers from various countries including Ghana, the UK and the United States. These lecturers are among the best in their respective academic fields. I believe this is the school's greatest asset, a strong and knowledgeable team dedicated to achieving successful results from their students and who also love their job.

I would like to use this opportunity to say "Ayekoo" to the entire faculty on behalf of all Ashesi students. We really appreciate the good job you're doing for us.

Ladies and gentlemen, I recently asked a fellow student how he felt about being an Ashesi University student and he replied "When you dream a wonderful dream and it comes true, how do you describe the feeling you get? That's how difficult it is to describe one's feelings about Ashesi".

I would like to end with a personal message to all my fellow students. As I mentioned earlier we are among the most privileged in our society. Therefore I believe we should take responsibility for our own destinies, make our parents proud and create a legacy for those that follow us and Africa as a whole. We must give back to our society after completing school and achieving our goals in life which I believe we all can if we properly utilize our time and take advantage of all that is offered here at Ashesi.

Once again, on this very special Inauguration Day, I welcome you all to Ashesi University, where dreams become a reality.

Thank you.

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