Hartwick college

Where are you from?
I was born in Nigeria, but my entire family is Ghanaian, so we moved back to Ghana a few months after I was born and we moved to Cape Verde a few months after being in Ghana. We moved to Bronx, NY, in 2002, I think so we could get a better education. At first, we lived with my uncle; now we live in the apartment upstairs.

My neighborhood in the Bronx? That's a story. It's a rough neighborhood. I learned a lot living there.

When did you know that Hartwick was for you?
I visited a couple times. In April, I stayed with Chris Soto '11, who became my roommate. Then I came back in the summer for orientation. That's when I realized I had already made friends; that I could do this. Before school started, I did the Awakening program at Pine Lake. It was extremely different than anything I had done before. I had never been camping, but on the first night, we were camping under a tarp and it was really raining. I was definitely out of my comfort zone; it was hard.

Why major in Business Administration?
In high school [Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology], I did an internship at Capital One Bank, working in bank branches as a trained relationship banker. My father was a businessman; I've traveled with him in Africa and with my uncle in Manhattan buying wholesale products for his store. I like the networking.

Why the Three-Year Degree Program?
That's what attracted me to Hartwick. I could have finished high school in three years, but they wouldn't let me. This is my chance. I'll have a head start when I go on to graduate school, maybe even get a Ph.D. My parents were convinced when I told them they won't have to pay the fourth year of tuition.

How do you describe Hartwick to friends back home?
I was just talking to some of them today. I tell them it's everything they're not used to. The school is small at the same time that it's large. There are different kinds of kids here from different places you don't know anything about, doing different things you haven't done. That makes Hartwick really large, in a good way, but it also still feels small.

Where do you spend your time?
I work out every day. I'm on the field practicing, or in Binder playing basketball. Sundays, I'm dancing. Otherwise, I'm in The Commons, my room, or my friends' rooms. I made my first trip to Walmart the other day; my first trip ever in my life. It was really nice; I was happy.

What does "theory into practice" mean to you?
I see that in my professors. They've done what we're learning. Like my Anthropology professor, Dr. Connie Anderson: she's had many years of experience living in South Africa. In Introduction to Business with John Clemens, we're doing simulations. I feel like I'm running my own business. For me, that kind of learning is best and it's more fun.

Where will you go from here?
My big dream is to have my own major corporation. I'll have people working for me who travel and make deals, but first I'll do it. My parents want me to be a doctor. Most African parents want that; it's a stereotype, but it's true. I hope I can find a way to combine business and medicine.