This is a column I wrote while interning at The Daily Statesman. Enjoy. Successful democracies all have one thing in common: the voices of the people make a difference. Voting and democracy share an important relationship. A democracy that fails to listen to the voices of the people will, ultimately, fail to survive. A strong voter presence Read More …
As our time in Accra comes to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to take a trip down memory lane with some of the highs and lows of my internship. Unfortunately, my time was cut short due to personal reasons, but there were some pretty surreal moments over the course of my employment Read More …
Some of my favorite photos from our time in Ghana.
As our cohorts third and final weekend trip approached, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Every one of our trips out of Accra had been special in their own right, but I hadn’t heard a lot about the Kumasi trip and pretty much went in blind. While I knew I wanted to buy some Read More …
Emily and I were frustrated. The map had led us to the exact spot where the bookstore was supposed to be and yet, even as we traipsed from corner to corner of the intersection, we could not find it. We attempted to ask fellow pedestrians, but everybody was in too much of a hurry to Read More …
Being in a group with so many amazing photographers, I chose to leave my camera at home in hopes that the more camera savvy people in the group would be able to adequately capture the feeling of our trip. I did, however, bring my trusty iPhone 5 (complete with a cracked screen and outdated camera Read More …
Most of the important relationships in my life began with music. My most vivid memory of my mother has her dancing alone in our living room, The Fugees oozing from the wall-mounted speakers. Music always made her curious for more, this curiosity being her most youthful trait. When she danced, she looked like a child. Read More …
It has taken me roughly 30 days to gather my thoughts and emotions surrounding our visit to the Anani Memorial International School in Nima. Upon arriving in Nima, we were greeted by the music instructor and principal of the school. Their faces displayed excitement secretly laced with anxiety; a facial expression I too would adopt Read More …
The first day of my internship, I did not expect to become friends with my new, intimidating coworkers. However, my coworkers ended up being the biggest part of why I loved my internship so much. The job itself was great and taught me so much, but the people I was surrounded by made the overall Read More …
I generally try to avoid clichés in my writing, yet here I am, writing about how study abroad changed me. I wouldn’t have it any other way – I didn’t decide to intern in Ghana in the hopes that I’d be comfortable enough not to have to adapt. Reflecting now, I’m somewhat surprised how much Read More …
That’s the meme my best friend sent me after I sent her a video of me being surprised for my birthday by my Ghana family. That’s right. All 19 individuals maliciously conspired against me to throw me an awesome birthday party complete with pizza, cake and gifts. Like who does that? Who decides to create Read More …
On Sunday, a delegation of 15 U.S. Congress people arrived in Ghana. They were led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. They had a whirlwind trip that was packed with a busy schedule of things to do. I had the opportunity to cover one of their many activities. On Monday afternoon they toured a Read More …
There are only 3 or so free weekends on this trip and until this last weekend, I had not taken the chance to go out and experience Accra’s nightlife or site-see. On our last free weekend, I knew that it was time for a change. On Friday night, the majority of us went to Kiki Read More …
Growing up I was instilled with the ethics of hard-work, earning everything and not having anything given to me. This started when I was nine or ten-years-old when I ran the cash register at my parent’s restaurant. After being in Accra for four weeks, I see the same work ethic and hustle that is needed Read More …