“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
One of my mentors put it this way: Humanity is counting not only on us but on those who we help to thrive and blossom in our wake. Deep? Very. Dramatic? Maybe. But I agree, because that's how I got here.
My parents grew up as farmers in Jinijini, a small village in Ghana. For my parents, a good life meant an abundant crop at harvest time and an occasional trip to the big city. But some government official took a chance on my father: He got a scholarship to attend secondary school.
So, I consider myself privileged. Indeed, Peace Corps volunteers tutored my siblings, classmates, and me for free in middle school — they believed in us. Later, I got fellowships endowed by generous others to attend Wesleyan and HBS.
It's my turn to pass it forward. In moving back home to Ghana, I have chosen to answer what I believe is our generation's greatest calling: to help the most economically vulnerable amongst us. I plan to raise money over the next few years, build high-quality schools, design world-class curricula specific to Africa, recruit top teachers from all over the world, and teach talented African children regardless of their income or circumstance. My dream is to help all high-potential African children get a quality education and gain the problem-solving skills the continent needs. I have to: They're counting on me.
My parents grew up as farmers in Jinijini, a small village in Ghana. For my parents, a good life meant an abundant crop at harvest time and an occasional trip to the big city. But some government official took a chance on my father: He got a scholarship to attend secondary school.
So, I consider myself privileged. Indeed, Peace Corps volunteers tutored my siblings, classmates, and me for free in middle school — they believed in us. Later, I got fellowships endowed by generous others to attend Wesleyan and HBS.
It's my turn to pass it forward. In moving back home to Ghana, I have chosen to answer what I believe is our generation's greatest calling: to help the most economically vulnerable amongst us. I plan to raise money over the next few years, build high-quality schools, design world-class curricula specific to Africa, recruit top teachers from all over the world, and teach talented African children regardless of their income or circumstance. My dream is to help all high-potential African children get a quality education and gain the problem-solving skills the continent needs. I have to: They're counting on me.
— Yaw Agyenim-Boateng