PropelEd International has commemorated the second edition of its SOAR (Students’ Success Organization, Advice, and Resources) event with the theme “Staying Resilient on your Path to Success.”
On Friday, August 19 at an event held at the UPSA Chancellor’s Hall in Madina, the social enterprise extended its charitable hand to two vibrant Ghanaian students.
On the journey to choosing the final two, the eight shortlisted scholars who made it to the grand final were made to deliver a presentation on what they sought to achieve with the program and how prepared they were to become ambassadors for the scholarships as expected of overall winners.
Mr. Paul Mensah, the overall winner, delivered a presentation on the theme, “I’m on a mission to end poverty in education.” In his presentation, he recounted his already established initiative of providing books to students in some deprived communities in the Greater Accra region. The essence was to make sure primary students were given the needed guidance to learn how to read and write the English language.
Miss Dora Adjonoh, who emerged as the runner-up but took home the same price as the overall winner, also delivered a presentation on her quest to liberate the minds of students, particularly female students, to let go of their phobia of mathematics and see it as an everyday thing to help improve the performance of mathematics education in Ghana.
With sponsorship from Joshob Construction Limited and the Deputy Attorney General who doubles as the Deputy Minister for Justice, Hon. Diana Asonaba Dapaah, the two brilliant students, Paul Mensah and Dora Adjonoh, are taking home GH¢10, 000 each as well as products from other sponsors of the event.
Speaking after being named the winners, the lucky students expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the organizers for their eminent support and pledged to do their best to impact the younger generation and be the true ambassadors of the scholarship scheme.
Under the scholarship dubbed “Building for Tomorrow,” the two beneficiaries are expected to keep their fire up in academics and come up with innovative ideas to impact the younger generations for the betterment of the country.
Reiterating her initial words at the launch of the scholarship in July this year in his welcome address at the SOAR event, particularly on the importance of the scholarship, Myrah Caesar, Managing Director of PropelEd International, said, “It’s been a lifelong dream to support brilliant students in their quest for better qualifications.”
He added, “Since the start of the pandemic, more and more students have struggled with making ends meet, and I hope the scholarship award will go a long way to help the students attain their educational goals. A big thanks to Joshob Construction and all the sponsors for supporting this cause and making this vision possible.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the program, she noted, “Being a scholarship recipient throughout my studies in school, I realized a lot of people are not getting the opportunity to forge ahead to pursue their studies, so I reached out to benevolent companies to help me make an impact and help people achieve their dream in life.”
As part of the SOAR event, well-experienced personalities from each gender assembled on a panel and educated the gathering on the need to be resilient in life while they aspire to be successful in their respective endeavours.
Each gave instances where life wasn’t easy at the start, but with determination, the table turned for the good they are enjoying today.
On her part, the Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister for Justice, Hon. Diana Asonaba Dapaah also seized the opportunity to urge the scholars to be ambassadors of the program and make sure the organization’s effort doesn’t end in vain.
She advised the youths never to be derailed by materialistic things, for they are just temporary, but to forge ahead with their goals to make sure they are in touch with the current status in life and be innovative to help solve societal problems.
The Deputy Minister recalling how free services helped her reach her current status again urged the youths to, “offer yourself for service, always offer yourself to serve others for free so they can, in turn, refer you to those who will pay you.”
The program was anchored by Mr Dela and attended by Diana Asonaba Dapaah- Deputy Attorney General, Genevieve Puni- the Director of Rectrain Services, Joyce Danso- Career 1o1, Perry Nelson- Senior Research Software Engineer, Google Ghana as well as scholars from various tertiary institutions and representatives of stakeholders from the media and corporate organizations.
Other sponsors of the program include Kasapreko, Awake Mineral Water, MAE Shopping, Apply Board, Konzoom, Rectrain Services Limited, Career 1o1, and Kysel.
Offering media coverage were ModernGhana and TV Africa.
PropelEd’s vision is to propel young, ambitious Africans on their journey to greatness. The profile provides impactful and transformational resources to students through education and career journey.
The operations of PropelEd have helped provide access to educational opportunities for African students, secured over $250,000 worth of scholarships for them, and created a community of over 40,000 members across key African countries.