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Kufuor Scholar Deborah Aku-Shika Mensah has been elected student leader at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The member of the Kufuor Scholars Program (KSP) Class of 2023 contested as President of the Ghana Association of Disability and Rehabilitation Students (GADRES) and won with 79.05% of votes cast. She becomes the first female president of the association of students reading Disability and Rehabilitation Studies.
She says her training as a Kufuor Scholar motivated her to contest for the role. “As a Kufuor Scholar, I have undergone training that has showed me a whole different perspective of what a true leader is through multiple impactful lectures. I was motivated to bring good leadership and positive change to the association,” she explained in an interview.
“I strongly believed I could do the job and even better. KSP Coordinator Dr Pascal Brenya and my fellow scholars helped me identify my capabilities,” she noted.
Mensah says some people doubted her capabilities but she persevered. “It was not easy getting there. Some people thought it was rather wise that my vice, who is a male holds the office and I’d assist him. Showing my people why it shouldn’t be that way was my biggest challenge,” she explained.
“There was no backing out although sometimes I felt like quiting was the solution,” she added.
Mensah is promising effective leadership. “I am certain my colleagues have high expectations and some still have doubts. But the goal is to put GADRES where it belongs; to impact the world. Create awareness, challenge the system, the government, the health care system, the social setting, and the educational setting…” she explained.
“I believe women can do the job to put Ghana where it is supposed to be. I hope what I’ve been able to do here in GADRES will encourage young women to step up their game. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Mensah said.
“One lesson I have learnt from the scholars’ program is that passion without action is just a mere sentiment… I believe Ghana can become the Ghana that we want. We just have to take individual action towards it,” she concluded.