My motivation was to achieve the best results – Overall Best Graduating Student

● Ms. Abigail Nyamekye

You can get what you want if you really work hard towards it. These are the motivational words of Miss Abigail Nyamekye Hagan, a 22-year-old lady who emerged the Overall Best Graduating Student from the Faculty of Management Studies of the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) on September 8, 2022.

With a First Class Honours in Bachelor of Business Administration, she earned a final cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.72.

The name Abigail, means “father’s joy” and that was exactly the feeling Mr. Ernest Hagan, an Operations Manager, had on that day when the gathering gave his daughter a thunderous applause.

In an interview with The Spectator last Saturday, Miss Nyamekye described the feeling of coming out with flying colours as overwhelming and exciting, adding that it was “a great achievement.”

She said her motivation throughout her schooling was to “achieve the best results.”

The product of Pentecost Preparatory School at Madina continued her education at the Ghana National College where she studied Business and gained admission to further her education in Business Administration at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA).

Miss Hagan said she was determined to make a statement that every girl-child should be given an opportunity to go to school and, therefore, encouraged all parents to support their children.

She said that, going to lectures from home was quite challenging, coupled with sleepless nights, putting time and effort into ensuring that she met deadlines for assignments among others, had paid off to be the best of 1,121 graduating students.

Miss Abigail Nyamekye Hagan as her middle name suggests is a gift from God and as James 1 verse 17 says, “every good and perfect gift is from above.”

It was not surprising that she exhibited virtues such as discipline, integrity,  perseverance and tenacity to help her achieve her goals.

The Valedictorian stressed the need for the graduating students to be focused as they ventured into the world.

With a grateful heart, she commended parents who invested in their children’s education and applauded lecturers and all those whose role had in one way or the other impacted positively on their lives.

The next time you see Abigail, she is likely to be doing her Master’s Degree in Project Management because that is her aspiration.

Her hobbies are learning about new things and watching movies.

Mr. Ernest Hagan also told The Spectator that as a parent, he felt very excited and proud of her daughter’s success.

“It is not easy to achieve such an accomplishment yet she persevered and now, her efforts have been recognised as the best student,” he said.

He said as a father, he treated all his three children comprising two daughters and a son equally by giving them the opportunity to get higher education.

“I think the education of girls should be given same priority as boys. This is because as Dr. Kwegyir  Aggrey said, if you educate a boy, you educate an individual but if you educate a girl, you educate a nation and I am a strong advocate of this quote,” he said.

The Operations Manager recalled how he sometimes took loans to pay his children’s school fees and confidently said that it was worth it because at the end of the day, their future was secured.

He said every parent should have confidence in their daughters and give them whatever support they needed to be the best among the rest. He expressed appreciation to God for making everything possible.

As the late former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela said, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world ” and so for Mr. Hagan, every parent must do his or her best to give his or her child that weapon.

From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema.