Heading off to a new school overseas requires international students to make a lot of sacrifices.
Among the things they have to worry about are making friends, adjusting to a new timetable, workload, new culture, and dealing with feelings of homesickness.
Mr. Victor Kojo Dei, an alumnus of the University of Cape Coast and a second-year student from Ghana at Ohio University pursuing Communication and Development Studies says he is no exception when it comes to these things.
“Until I got to the US. That’s when I realized that international students who leave their home country to study in a different country do sacrifice a lot. But you don’t get to understand it until you get here. That is when you really realize that you really, really, really sacrifice a lot,” he said.
According to him, the decision for him to even travel is a huge one considering having to leave the environment he was used to and so much comfortable with.
He was recently named the 2023 most outstanding graduate student in Communication and Development Studies with a GPA of 4.0 at Ohio University’s Centre for International Studies (CIS) Awards ceremony.
Since then, congratulatory messages to Mr. Kojo Dei have been pouring in from within and outside Ghana.
In an interview on the Atlantic Wave, Kojo described his novel achievement and particularly the recognition he is getting following its announcement as a humbling experience.
He notes that although he did not expect this new development in his life to go viral “there’s an excitement of knowing that well, you made other people proud. It’s not even about myself, but it’s about the people I’ve associated with who are proud of my achievements. I find that very fulfilling. And then on the other side too, I feel very humbled because I never expected anything like this.”
Stating what he believes qualified him for the award, he mentioned that the outstanding student award is usually given to students who maintain their GPA of 4.0 and still have other community engagement.
Thus, although there may be other students who may have 4.0 in the department with him, what he thinks made him outstanding is that he was engaged in extracurricular activities.
“So, I wasn’t just a classroom person,” he added.
Some of the extracurricular activities he mentioned he has been engaged in include – he was the president of the Communication Development Student Association, currently a member of the Graduate Student Senate (the highest decision-making body for the graduate school.), Through the Graduate Student Senate, he serves on about seven committees at Ohio University, representing the Graduate Student Senate (these committees meet literally every other week), and is also an executive member of the International Students Union.
He further stated that when he got to the US, for the program he has been reading, he wasn’t thinking of going to get a 4.0 when he leaves.
“What I was thinking of was to maintain the standard, the level that you don’t lose your funding because you have to be 3.0 and above to maintain your funding. Once you are above 3.0, you are good to go.”
“My goal was like; my best should not fail me. I should not go beyond this to lose my funding, and that’s it. That’s all I cared about. But I never cared about being the topmost or being recognized in this way, so it just came as a surprise.”
The Communication and Development Studies at Ohio University’s Centre for International Studies (CIS) described Kojo as a true standout with extensive experience in reporting, news anchoring, talk show hosting, and online news editing focused on education, health, and cultural issues.
He also served as a dedicated reporter and online editor to the Campus Broadcasting Services –CBS and ATLFM and the University of Cape Coast at large.
Kojo Dei will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Communication at the University of Kentucky.
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Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
